Roommates
by Fallen Angel Codester
Summary: Misaka Mikoto was excited to get into high school...Until she found out her roommate is the former Queen of Tokiwadai, Shokuhou Misaki. When the two find out they are more or less stuck with each other until the school years end, they'll have to make it work. Will this form a friendship between Railgun and Mental Out? Or will each others constant presence prove too much?
1. You!

**As to cover any mistakes I make, I've only read up to LN 18. I'd probably be finished already if it was easier reading on a screen.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Onee-samaaaaaa!" Mikoto sighed as the auburn girl with pigtails refused to release her legs. She was trying to move all of her belongings to her new high school dorm, but Kuroko wasn't interested. Rather, she refused to allow it. "Stay here, with me!"

"Kuroko, I can't." Mikoto tried, obviously to no avail. "I graduated."

"But-but-but..."

"Plus, I waited as long possible to move out so you'd be happy. I have to go today, no exceptions." Mikoto hoped maybe her, what, umpteenth time trying to reason with the girl would work. It didn't.

"But Onee-sama, maybe we can..."

"No Kuroko, we can't. I'm leaving." Another attempt to escape resulted in Kuroko tightening her grip. They were standing outside of the Tokiwadai dorms, and Mikoto knew everyone was watching them. They all knew, like Mikoto, that this was going to happen. Mikoto just needed to wait for her backup.

"I got it, Onee-sama!" Mikoto was brought out of her thoughts as Kuroko appeared in front of her. "I'll move into your new dorm! That way you won't be stuck with some random person!"

"Kuroko..."

"We'll be together even longer!" Mikoto tried to stop the sparks that danced across her forehead, but she was getting more and more irritated by the second. The only thing that could make her angrier was...

"Hey, there's Biribiri!" Speak of the devil. Mikoto looked down the street to find Saten Ruiko, Uiharu Kazari, and the idiot, er...Kamijou Touma walking up to her. "I see you're ah...bogged down." Touma said as they reached the two girls, causing Mikoto to roll her eyes.

"Help me." She whispered as Kuroko groveled in front of her. She'd called her friends to see if anyone could get Kuroko to stop. That was not Touma's job, though. The idiot had been brought here to help Mikoto move her stuff. She only had a few bags, but there was no way in hell she was letting Kuroko help her. She'd never leave the dorm if she got there. Saten smiled.

"Come on, Shirai-san." The girl coaxed. "Let Misaka-san go."

"Yeah, she has to go." Uiharu agreed in a small tone, and Kuroko growled.

"Why?! So the ape over there can get his filthy paws all over her?!" Kuroko asked angrily, causing both accused parties to go red.

"Why do you always assume he and I do perverted stuff?!" She asked the teleporter angrily, and Kuroko shrugged.

"Do I have to count the times I've caught him with his hands on you?" The girl replied simply, and Mikoto couldn't find a response. She was right, after all. Anytime she and Touma hung out, somehow she ended up in his arms. _Not that I mind all that much..._

"It isn't like that, Shirai." Touma interjected, seeing Mikoto at a loss. "I don't feel that way about her." Although Mikoto couldn't discern if he was saying it to get Kuroko to calm down, it still caused her heart to throb painfully. If anything, the two years that had passed since she discovered her feelings had only gotten worse. Not to mention he got handsome. _God, I'm hopeless..._

"As if I'd listen to an ape talk about love!" Kuroko shouted at the top of her lungs. "You know nothing of Onee-sama and I's love! What we've been through! What..."

 _ZAP!_

Mikoto couldn't take it anymore, she'd electrocuted the teleporter. Kuroko dropped, unconscious, to the ground. As she did, Saten and Uiharu picked her up.

"We'll make sure she doesn't wake up for a bit." Saten said, smiling at Mikoto. "You get to your dorm."

"Thank you, Saten-san." Mikoto said gratefully, turning to Touma. "What are you waiting for?" She demanded, causing the boy to stare at her in confusion.

"Hah?"

"Pick my stuff up! It's the only reason I called you!"

"Seriously?!" Mikoto nodded and Touma hung his head. "Such misfortune..."

"Yeah yeah, let's go." Touma did as he was told and picked up as much as he could carry, as Mikoto made sure to pick up the lightest of her belongings. What? He deserved it for being so stupid. After he managed to get a good grip on them, they left on their expedition to the Nagatenjouki dorms, where Mikoto would live for the next three years. As they walked, Touma cast a glance at her.

"Excited for high school?" He asked curiously, and Mikoto smiled at him as she nodded.

"Yeah. I'm so pumped! I wonder how big my dorm is going to be."

"Seeing as you're going to the best high school in all of Academy City, it's probably a small apartment." Mikoto couldn't disagree there, Nagatenjouki was widely regarded as the best high school in the city, possibly the entire country. "Do you know who your roommate is?"

"Nope." Mikoto said, getting antsy again. "Kuroko wouldn't let me near the school for our whole break."

"Speaking of Shirai, you must be excited to be living away from her for a change." Touma gave a small laugh. "I've heard enough from Saten about how many times you've woken up being spooned by her." Mikoto went red at his joke and made a mental note to reprimand Saten for telling the idiot such a thing.

"I suppose I am." Mikoto agreed. "Don't tell her I said that, though. She'll be destroyed."

"My lips are sealed, not to worry." Mikoto smiled gratefully at the target of her affection before she stretched.

"So, you're almost done high school then?" She asked, and he nodded. "I don't see how. You missed you many days with all of that magic stuff."

"It's a miracle in a life strewn with misfortune." he replied. "Although I feel a lot of strings may have been pulled at some point."

"Probably." The rest of the way there was covered by casual small talk between the two, which was nice. Mikoto never planned on telling him, but she'd fallen for him hard. Even if she was a little bit of a..well, the T word. She refused to refer to herself as one, though. It didn't help that her and his friend groups had semi-merged over the years, resulting in seeing him more often. He was just the perfect combination of heroic, idiotic, irritating, handsome, and sense of justice for her to fall for him. She'd die of embarrassment if anyone, God forbid he himself or Kuroko, found out. If she had too, she'd take her feelings to her grave. He had far to many women chasing him, anyway.

Woah." Mikoto was brought out of her head as Touma stopped in front of her. " _These_ are the Nagatenjouki dorms?" Mikoto followed his gaze and nodded in confirmation, they were indeed. "Yep, definitely an apartment."

"Shut up and come on." Mikoto replied, dragging him inside. She marched him up to the registration office and told him to wait a moment. Doing as he was told like a good idiot, Mikoto walked up to the desk and leaned on the counter, watching as a nice looking middle aged women walked up to her.

"Hello!" she greeted enthusiastically. "Do you need something?"

"Yeah, I need my room number and everything." Mikoto jabbed a thumb at Touma. "Moving in and all that."

"Name?"

"Misaka Mikoto." The woman tapped the name into the computer, muttering information to herself.

"Misaka...Misaka...Here we are! Room #128, on the third floor of the first building." The women handed her a piece of paper with eight number written on it, smiling. "There is your password..."

"Password?" Mikoto asked, looking down at the numbers.

"The doors are locked by a number encryption, so that password will get you in to room 128. Although," Mikoto looked up to see a bright smile on the women's face. "I doubt the Railgun would have a problem with electronic locks."

"Ah, so you caught me." Mikoto said with a bright smile.

"Yep! Nagatenjouki certainly has a powerhouse group this year. Three level fives attending this year!"

"Three?" Mikoto asked.

"Well there's you." The women said. "Number One's supposed to be going here, but he rarely shows up." That sounded a lot like Accelerator. Mikoto wasn't exactly best friends with the Number One, but not showing up to school sounded like the albino. "And...Hm, I can't recall who the last one was." Mikoto raised an eyebrow at those words. How could she forget who the other level five was? That seemed like something you'd remember. "Ah well. Go and get settled in, they'll be greeting the freshman soon!"

"Alright!" Mikoto left the counter and walked back to Touma, who was where she left him. "Come on idiot, we have to go to the third level! Room 128!"

"Wah?!"

* * *

"Thank God for elevators." Touma said, leaning against the back of said elevator. Mikoto rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't that many stairs." She told him irritably.

"It was three floors worth!" Touma said indignantly, and Mikoto rolled her eyes. All he thought about was himself, it seemed. As the elevator came to a stop and the door opened, both students stepped out onto the hall and observed the courtyard below. "I know I said this place was classy, but that's a bit much."

"Jealous?" Mikoto asked.

"That your level gets you noticed?" he asked, and Mikoto glared. "Nope, not really." Deciding not to respond and start a fight, Mikoto walked down the hall and counted the doors with the numbers emblazoned on them, finally coming to a stop at 128.

"Here we are!" She announced, causing Touma to drop everything.

"Thank God." he said with a sigh, turning around. "Have fun."

"You're not going to help me unpack?"

"No. With my luck I'll unzip the wrong bag and get lost in your panties." Mikoto detonated with embarrassment at the thought. "See you later, Biribiri."

"It's Misaka Miko..."

"Misaka Mikoto, I know. Bye." With that, the idiot was gone, which allowed Mikoto's heart to slow as well as her anger quell. He made her so unreasonably angry sometimes. Rolling her eyes, she turned to the door and looked down at the electronic lock, password encrypted just as she'd been told. Deciding she'd remember the password later, she unlocked the door and was greeted by a rush of cooled air, and she walked inside to marvel at her new home.

Just as Touma had suggested, it was an apartment, basically. It had a kitchen near the front door, a living room, all walls painted in Nagatenjouki's signature bluish-purple. A look down the one hall showed three doors, two being rooms and the other a bathroom. Mikoto cast a quick look into the door closest to her, revealing a room her roommate had decided to take. It really didn't matter to Mikoto which room she got, as long as it was her own. The last few years with Kuroko had gotten a little difficult as she grew. Deciding not to be that person and go through her roommates things, she slowly shut the door again and went to her own room, peeking inside.

"Seriously?" She murmured, stomach turning happily. Although she'd always slept in a twin sized bed, a queen size occupied her room. There was a desk in the corner, a closet next to it, and it was all hers. There was also what appeared to be a full set of her new uniform folded neatly on the bed. A quick sit on said bed told her it was incredibly comfy, and Mikoto wasn't sure she would ever want to wake up. Finally convincing herself she'd be able to sleep in due time, she walked back out to the hall and began dragging her things inside. Putting her clothes in her closet, along with various stuffed animals. She placed her laptop on the desk, opening it to reveal her screensaver, which was her and her friends. Finally, her eyes rested on the Nagatenjouki uniform laid out for her, presumably by the school. Unfolding it and checking it out, Mikoto decided to put it on.

After a few seconds of struggling, she managed to get it on. The skirt and skirt, like everything else, was dark blue. As Mikoto checked herself out in the mirror, she smiled. She certainly filled out the uniform well, far better than she had her Tokiwadai one. _Oh, if Kuroko could see me like this..._

Once she was done checking herself out, Mikoto decided to go out and check out the grounds before she had to go and get greeted officially before the first day of classes the next day. Walking out her door, it took all of ten seconds to get recognized.

"Misaka-san!" Mikoto turned and smiled as the familiar face ran up to her.

"Kongou-san!" She greeted as the girl reached her. Kongou was an old friend from Tokiwadai and a level 4, who apparently now attended Nagatenjouki. Mikoto had never asked where she was going, but now she knew.

"You go here too?" The raven haired girl asked, and Mikoto nodded. "That's cool, we're like neighbors! I'm in room 132."

"That's great! Glad to have an old friend with me." Together the two girls left the dorms and into the grounds, where other students of all years mulled around.

"So," Kongou began, snickering. "How did Shirai take it?"

"About as well as you'd expect." Mikoto replied with a sigh. "Groveled at my feet for at east half an hour, cried for another half an hour, then I knocked her out and made a run for it." The two girls shared a laugh at the thought. "So, who are you roommates with?"

"Well, no one as it turns out." Mikoto raised an eyebrow at the girls words. "Because, you know, my Dad is super influential. I wanted my own room and I got it!"

"Congrats...I think." Mikoto said, unsure if that had been an appropriate response.

"What about you?"

"No idea." Mikoto stretched as they sat down. "The other room was inhabited, but no one was home. I guess I'll find out later, huh?"

"I suppose."

" _Attention. All new First Years of Nagatenjouki Academy please report to the Auditorium."_

"That's us." Kongou said, standing up. Mikoto did so as well and followed the girl through the crowd of people ushering in the same direction as them. Mikoto assumed Kongou knew her way around somewhat, but Mikoto hadn't a clue. Finally, they were ushered into a line and filed into the auditorium, sitting down near the middle. After a few moments of mindless chatter, everyone settled down when the Headmaster stood on the stage in front of them.

"Greetings, First Years!" he said in a loud and booming tone, silencing the remaining people talking. "Welcome to Nagatenjouki Academy! Now although I know that to be here you must all be proficient with abilities and academics like, I expect you all to try your best no matter what!" He continued on, droning on and on about the history of the school and what title they had to maintain, which meant being the best all the time. Mikoto was used to such pressure, she was a level 5. Others didn't seem to share her thinking. Or maybe they were just bored, she knew the feeling was creeping up on her as well. It was clear after a moment though, that he was being told to speed his speech up. Evidently the teachers could see the boredom throughout the crowd. "Well, just do your best, and enjoy your school year!"

* * *

Once they had been released, Kongou had given Mikoto a quick tour of the buildings the school encompassed, showing her the class she'd go to the following morning. Thanking her friend for the tour, Mikoto retired to her dorm and threw herself on the couch.

"Anyone home?" She called, earning no response. Her roommate had yet to show herself, but that was fine, they'd meet before the night was over. Grabbing the remote from the are it was on on the coffee table, Mikoto flipped aimlessly through the channels. She did so, however, until she heard the door click. It had been unlocked. Mikoto turned with a big smile on her face to greet her roommate, only for it too fade immediately.

Misaki Shokuhou hummed to herself as she came inside, wearing the uniform of Nagatenjouki. The starry eyed blonde made eye contact with Mikoto, and there was an awkward silence.

"Um..." Misaki said, staring at Mikoto. "Misaka-san?"

"Shokuhou-san?" The girls continued to stare before Shokuhou laughed awkwardly.

"Oh, my bad! Did I go in the wrong room?" She laughed. "Sorry Misaka-san, I guess I got your room number and 128 mixed up."

"...This is room 128." More silence, and it began to dawn on both girls what was happening. And, at the same time, Railgun and Mental Out jumped back and pointed at each other accusingly.

"You're my roommate?!"

 **And that's it for the first chapter! I guess I'll address some things right here, so here goes.**

 **I couldn't find any reputable source as to what year of school Kongou was in, but one did say 2nd year, so I rolled with it. She doesn't have a roommate because I'd have to make one up.**

 **I'm going off of the Japanese school year (Which is so much cooler, by the way) So right now it's around the end of March.**

 **There won't be much action at all in this story, save for the Daihaseisai. More slice of life like than anything. This is mostly because I just came off an SAO story brimmed with it, and an ongoing Fairy Tail fic brimmed with it. This is something I decided to write just for an easygoing experience.**

 **Anyways, with all of that said, I hope you enjoyed! Leave a review!**


	2. The Agreement

**I just really want to write this story, it's got my creative juices flowing. Also, thanks to UnknownSoul for pointing out Misaki is Mental Out's first name, not her family name. Don't know how I got it mixed up, really.**

 **Enjoy!**

"You've got me to be kidding me!" Both girls slammed their hands down on the Headmasters desk, but he didn't even flinch.

"I'm sorry ladies, but there is nothing to be done." He looked back up at them. "The living arrangements were finalized a long time ago."

"I can't live with her!" They both shouted again, pointing accusingly at each other. "She's too much for me to deal with!"

"The only time you can change is after this school year, I'm sorry." He repeated. "Although, I suppose this works out rather well."

"Why?" Mikoto demanded. She really did want to know how this worked at all.

"You're both Level 5's, correct?" They both nodded. "In that case, you're both really the only ones that can deal with each other at all. Shokuhou-san, you'd just brainwash whatever roommate you got instead, and Misaka-san's already had a creepy roommate." Mikoto really wasn't sure she wanted to know how her Headmaster knew that.

"You don't know, do you?" Shokuhou demanded, getting closer to the Headmasters face. "We. Aren't. Friends. We can't live together!"

"It's final until next year, I'm sorry." He repeated. Shokuhou began to take out her remote, presumably to change the Headmasters mind, and he chuckled. "Oh, that won't work dear. Sorry."

"Hah?" Shokuhou asked, confused.

"We know all about that little remote of yours. In preparation for your attendance her, all teachers and staff were issued electronic earpieces." He turned to his side and pointed the small device out to make his point. "It, much like your roommates magnetic field, will disrupt your attempts to brainwash anyone in an official position." Shokuhou looked thoroughly shocked, and remained silent.

"I...I..."

"I'm sorry ladies, but you're stuck with each other for at least the year."

* * *

That was the story of how Mikoto learned she was stuck with Shokuhou Misaki as her roommate. Nothing could be done, even a brainwashing to make it so. They were both standing outside their apartment now, watching the carpenter screw on the gold nameplates.

"I hate this." Mikoto looked over at her roommates words, ones she expected.

"The feeling's mutual, I assure you." She replied. Once she had spoken, the carpenter walked away to continue putting up nameplates, and the girls observed his handiwork.

 _Misaka Mikoto_

 _Shokuhou Misaki_

These words had been screwed into the wall right under the intercom, officiating their living space as theirs. After a few moments of staring at it angrily, both girls made a move to enter at the same time, glaring at each other as they did so.

"After you." Shokuhou said in a sickly sweet tone.

"No no, you first." After another stare down, they both tried to enter at the same time, only succeeding in make a scene. Once they managed to squeeze through, Shokuhou faced Mikoto, hands on her hips.

"I hope you don't expect me to be your new best friend" She said flatly. "The only reason we're stuck here is because we have to be, got it? We aren't gal pals, friends, or whatever else you call your people. I hate to even address you as my roommate, but it's about as official as I can get without saying Railgun or Number Three."

"Yeah, whatever." Mikoto replied, pushing past the busty blonde and towards her room. We'll deal with this tomorrow, got it?"

"Don't boss me around." Mikoto sighed and ignored her, slamming her door shut. After hearing Shokuhou do the same, she walked over to her laptop and opened it, losing herself in the internet. While she surfed pointlessly, she wondered how she was going to survive the whole year they'd be stuck together. It would be difficult no doubt, but maybe they could work something out. She was about to shut her laptop when a notification went off on her screen. Reading it told her Saten wanted to video chat with her.

Making sure she looked alright, and not totally pissed off like a moment ago, Mikoto clicked accept and the image of the black haired girl appeared, and she smiled.

"Hey, Misaka-san!" The girl said, her tone causing Mikoto to smile a bit. "How was your day? Exciting?"

"You have no idea." Mikoto said sarcastically. "i got to listen to the Headmaster drone for about half an hour about the school. Riveting."

 _"Sounds like fun."_ Saten joked, chuckling. _"Did you find out who your roommate is?"_

"I did alright." Mikoto said, smile fading.

 _"Eh? Do you not like her?"_

"I mean..." Mikoto trailed off, wondering what her answer was supposed to be. It wasn't that she didn't like Shokuhou, the two had come together more than once when they had too. But their personalities were so different and both being level 5's had sparked a rivalry from the start. "I don't know, we'll see how it turns out. How was Kuroko after Touma and I escaped?"

 _"She woke up after maybe twenty minutes."_ Saten said, raising her finger to her chin. _"But Uiharu thought ahead and blindfolded her so she wouldn't try and teleport, what with the chance to serious hurting herself. After she calmed down she was kind of sad looking. Nothing we could do about that, though."_

"At least she didn't try and give chase like I thought she would." Mikoto replied, resting her head on her hand. She heard a door open and close from the computer, and Saten turned to look.

 _Oh, Uiharu! Come here, I got her!"_ Mikoto smiled again as the girl with flowers on her head appeared in the shot.

 _"Misaka-san!"_ The girl greeted. _"How is it there?"_

"You guys want to see the room?" Mikoto asked, grinning as her friends eye lit up.

 _"Yes, of course we do!"_ Saten said enthusiastically. Mikoto moved out of the way of the webcam and slowly tilted her laptop to get a full shot of her room, and she heard the girls gasping.

 _"There's so much room!"_ Uiharu said, her eyes shining. _"That bed is huge too!"_

 _"I'm soooo jealous, Misaka-san! You don't even have to pay too live there either!"_

"I know, I know." Mikoto said with a laugh as she turned the screen back to herself. "But look on the bright side. If you guys get good enough grades, you may be able to come here next year!" Mikoto smiled at her friends, who didn't reply.

 _"Hah?"_ Saten asked, and Mikoto gave them a quizzical look.

"Didn't you guys know?" Mikoto asked, tilting her head to the left. "Levels aren't a requirement to get in. Most of the academically excelled students are level 0 or 1." Both girls looked at each other wide eyed, until they both got a determined look.

 _"Hear that, Uiharu? We could get in there if we try hard enough!"_

 _"Top of the class graduation, here we come!"_ Mikoto watched with a bemused look on her face as her friends proclaimed their determination. _With enough trying, we can...!"_

 _"Ui-ha-ru!"_ All three girls in the call froze and the voice, one Mikoto knew all to well. _"_ Where _-are-you?"_

 _"We have to go, Misaka-san!"_ Saten said quickly, her eyes full of fear. _"I shudder to think about what she'll do if she finds out about this call..."_

"I-I understand." Mikoto said. "Quickly, go." The call was swiftly ended, and Mikoto sighed in relief that she hadn't seen Kuroko. She knew the longer the teleporter went without seeing her the clingier shed get when she eventually did, but on day one? Closing the device and plugging it in to charge it, Mikoto changed out of her uniform and into her pajamas, having unfortunately grown out of her Gekota ones from before. Throwing herself on quite possibly the most comfortable bed she'd ever lain in, she drifted off into a deep sleep, all of her worries washing away.

* * *

Mikoto awoke rather early, which was when she'd told her alarm clock to do so. Whirling and hitting the clock with her fist, she smiled to herself as it stopped ringing. She allowed herself a few moments of solace as she woke up, finally pulling away her sheets and sitting up, stretching.

"First day of classes..." She murmured to herself, smiling. Stuck with Shokuhou or not, she was excited to start her days as a high school student. Getting up quickly and deciding to take a shower, she walked out of her room as quietly as she could to prevent waking Number Five, and slowly opened the door to the bathroom.

She was greeted by an obscene amount of beauty products, the smell of which made her gag.

"Gah...!" Mikoto hissed, closing the door quickly. "Wha-wha...why..." Taking a deep breath, Mikoto stepped inside once more and observed the amount of products, the combined smells of which made Mikoto's head spin. She'd have to brave it though, she wanted to shower. Luckily enough, the hot water let her clear her head a little bit, also allowing her a moment to revel in her excitement about the day.

And not getting groped by Kuroko, that was a bonus.

Once she was done, she escaped the toxic bathroom as soon as possible, drying off and changing in her bedroom. Once again admiring the filled out uniform in the mirror, Mikoto checked the time. Class started in about forty-five minutes, which gave her enough time to go and get something to eat beforehand. She had gotten to the doorway before she realized something.

"...Shokuhou-san?" Mikoto asked, not getting any response. "Shokuhou-san?" Still nothing. Mikoto waited for a moment if the blonde was just getting herself together, before she sighed. "I'm going to hate myself for this..." Mikoto walked back down the hall and stood outside the blonde's door, waiting a moment before she knocked. "Shokuhou-san?" She asked, knocking rapidly. She tapped her fist three more times on the door when she heard shuffling from within.

"What?" Mental Out's irritated voice finally came from within. "I'm sleeping."

"It's time to get uuuup." Mikoto said in her best sing song tone, trying not to sound irritated.

"I'm sleeping, did you not hear me?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Sleeping." Mikoto let sparks dance across her forehead at the blonde stubbornness, before she put her hands on her hips.

"Class starts in forty-five minutes and counting. If you have to use as many beauty products in one morning as you have in that bathroom, it'll take you a while. Not to mention going and getting something to eat, because there's nothing here. Just trying to look out for you..." Mikoto waited silently until she heard footsteps from inside, and the sleepy, annoyed, face of Mental Out appeared in her face.

"Here." She hissed. "Happy?"

"Well you listened, yes!" She replied perkily, and Shokuhou rolled her eyes. The blonde pushed her way past Mikoto, who decided to wait for her roommate rather then leave without her. She sat on the couch and listened as the shower started, wondering how this was going to work out. Since she felt to good this morning, she'd had the thought maybe they could make this work, but only with both of them trying. So, Mikoto would make the effort. even if Shokuhou wouldn't. Mikoto played with her phone as the shower stopped, and a few minutes later the blonde exited and went into her room. After another few minutes, Shokuhou reappeared, standing next to the couch in her uniform, and held her arms out as if showing off to Mikoto.

"Ta da." She said. "All up and ready."

"Congratulations, in a record time I'm sure." Both of them stared at each other until they both walked towards the door, both once again trying to go through at the same time. Once they managed to squeeze through, Mikoto followed Shokuhou to the elevator and entered behind her, the two of them being the only ones inside. "Hey, uh, Shokuhou-san." Mikoto's words caused the blonde to turn and look at her, saying she was listening. "I, uh, have an idea."

"Which is?" She asked.

"I think that...I don't know, if we both made the effort, living together might not be that bad." Mikoto smiled weakly at the blonde, who rolled her eyes.

"How'd you come to that conclusion?" She asked.

"Well, if we both tried..." Mikoto trailed off as Shokuhou didn't say anything. "No? You don't want too?"

"I don't know." Shokuhou said. "The very thought of getting along with you goes against everything we've already done to each other, but..." Shokuhou didn't continue on, leaving her own sentence hanging. The elevator came to a stop at the bottom floor of the dorm building, and both girls walked out and onto campus grounds. It took Mikoto all of ten seconds to realize people were staring.

"Isn't that Railgun?"

"And Mental Out?"

"Wow, two level fives right in front of us!"

"Are we supposed to, like, honor them or something?"

Mikoto did her best to ignore all of the staring, which included more than one attractive guy her age. The prospect of going to school with guys after Tokiwadai excited her more than it should have. Once they reached the main building Mikoto did her best to follow Kongou's instruction from the day before, not actually remembering much of it. Finally, the cafeteria was in sight. Remembering the many folk tales about such food made Mikoto second guess her want to enter, bu her stomach roared in protest at the thought of not getting breakfast.

"You want something?" Mikoto asked Shokuhou, who stared back. "Just asking."

"No, I'm fine." She replied. Mikoto nodded and entered, quickly picking herself up a bagel just to get out faster. Once she got that and her coffee, she exited to find one unfortunate fact.

Shokuhou was gone. Mikoto hadn't told her to wait, but she'd hoped Mental Out had some manners. Realizing she didn't recall the exact way to her homeroom, Mikoto began to panic. _Calm down, calm down. It's only day one, so it isn't a big deal if your late anyway..._

However as she realized the vastness of the crowd she was stuck in, she knew it was unlikely she'd make it on time.

 _Damn it, Shokuhou!_

* * *

Mikoto made it with almost no time to spare, the bell ringing right when she made it to her class. No one payed her any special mind because of it, but Mikoto's angry glare was glued to the blonde near the back, smiling like an angel. Mikoto stormed up to her and slammed a hand down on her desk. She looked up with a frown on her face.

"What is it, Misaka-san?" She asked in that sickly sweet tone of hers.

"You left me!" Mikoto hissed. "I don't know my way around here!"

"And who's fault is that?" Mikoto watched as Shokuhou checked her nails. "It isn't my fault your lesbian roommate wouldn't let you leave when you were supposed to a week ago."

"Still, you could've waited!"

"But I didn't want to." The two girls glared at each other for a few seconds before Mikoto gave up and walked to an empty desk near the window, sitting down in a huff. The teacher walked in right about then and started to address them. The usual rundown about everything, but Mikoto wasn't listening. She was too busy trying to figure out what to do about Shokuhou. Although Number Five hadn't said she wanted to get along, Mikoto hoped she'd had shown a bit more sense then that.

 _I need to bring her to some kind of agreement...That's it!_

* * *

What are you doing, Misaka-san?" Mikoto looked up as Kongou sat down across from her at Joseph's, and smiled. Class for the day had ended, and Mikoto had gone out with Kongou.

"Nothing." She replied innocently, pushing the paper aside. "Just that homework from earlier."

"It seems like a pain to me." She replied, resting her head on her hand, sipping her drink. "He explained it terribly."

"I know." Mikoto agreed. "I know we went to Tokiwadai and all, but that math made _my_ head hurt." Their math teacher, Itagaki-sensei, was by no means stupid, but he assigned their work like they'd done it for years, no explanation or anything. They continued to talk about their day when Mikoto stiffened.

"This gaze..." She whispered, and Kongou raised an eyebrow.

"What?" She asked.

"This violated feeling..." Mikoto turned her head to indeed find what she expected to see, which was Kuroko across the street, sniffing the air like a bloodhound. "Uh oh..."

"Hey, is that Shirai?" Kongou asked, confirming Mikoto's fear. "What is she doing?"

"Looking for me, no doubt." Mikoto replied in a low tone, watching Saten and Uiharu appear from down the street and drag the teleporter away. Mikoto didn't know if either girl was aware of her presence in the restaurant, but she was grateful for the save all the same. "We should probably get out of here, just in case she comes back."

"Good idea."

* * *

Mikoto was outside her room, taking deep breaths. Her plan would work, it had too. If she was going to make it through the year without pulling her hair out, it would have too. Finally swallowing her worries, she hacked the doors mechanism and entered. The scene was innocent enough, Shokuhou was sitting at the small window area that allowed people to look into the kitchen, staring down at what appeared to be the math homework. The blonde looked up as she entered, but didn't seem to care.

"Oh, you're back." She deadpanned, not sounding the least bit interested.

"Uh, yeah..." Mikoto replied, hiding the sheet behind her back. "I am."

"Don't care." Mikoto nodded and entered, at first chickening out and walking past the blonde. However a quick thought back to how insane she would go without it, Mikoto walked back to Shokuhou and slammed the piece of paper down in front of her. "The hell?" She demanded, looking up at Mikoto in confusion.

"Read it." Mikoto said, demanding it more than anything. Shokuhou picked the piece of paper up, furrowing her brow as her eyes landed on the title.

" _The Living Agreement between Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou_ _Misaki_? The hell is this?"

 **I'll leave the terms until next chapter, just because I want to. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	3. The Kuroko Clause

**Back again! I'm just saying, if we can get four or five reviews all the time, I'll be content.**

 **Enjoy!**

"This is really stupid." Mikoto looked over at Shokuhou as she spoke, trying to contain her irritation.

"Why?"

"Well, mainly because you took the time to actually write something like this up. Did you have nothing better to do?" Mikoto really hadn't, but she didn't say that. "Secondly it's because it won't work."

"Just read it and tell me afterwards!" Mikoto said, walking away to the couch and Shokuhou sighed.

"Fine, but I'm agreeing to nothing." Shokuhou turned in her seat to face in Mikoto's direction, the agreement in her hands. "Alright, _Rule Number 1: Both girls will agree not to use their powers on each other in any capacity._ " Shokuhou looked up in confusion. "I think this more applies to you not me, your stupid electromagnetic field prevents me from doing anything."

"I know, just saying." Mikoto said, and the blonde looked back down at the sheet.

 _"Rule Number 2: Neither Mikoto or Misaki will use their powers on the others friends."_ Shokuhou looked up angrily. "Are you still mad about that stuff I did during the Daihaseisai? Seriously?"

"Keep reading." Mikoto replied.

"... _There are several clauses to this rule, the first one being if it saves one of said friends from danger or prevents it entirely..._ Oh, my bad."

"Exactly."

" _The next clause is in the most extreme sense, perhaps Kuroko getting inside the dorm or if they are pushed to their limits._ Nice job mentioning Shirai." Mikoto nodded, that was definitely a clause they needed. " _Rule Number 3: Both Mikoto and Misaki will, to the best of their ability, be friendly with each other. No matter how irritated or upset, make the effort._ Okay, that's just stupid."

"Why?" Mikoto asked, and Shokuhou met her gaze.

"Because we can't." Shokuhou replied. "We aren't like that."

"Have we tried?" Mikoto asked, and Shokuhou went quiet. "Exactly. Plus, if you want to make it through this year without pulling your hair out, we'll need it."

"...Ugh, alright." Shokuhou brought the paper back up. " _Rule Number 4: Chores around the dorm will be split evenly, and both girls will be responsible for whatever they are assigned..._ Alright, I guess that's fair."

"I thought so." Mikoto said, glad that her rules seemed fair.

" _The first clause to this rule is if either girl is unable to complete their assigned tasks, such as being sick. Or just not being able._ What the hell does that mean?" Mikoto shrugged, she really didn't know, She felt, though, that with the lives they led something was bound to come up. Especially with her and the dangerous people she knew.

"Just keep reading, you're almost done." Shokuhou nodded and returned her eyes to the paper.

" _The final, and most important rule, is Number 5: In the event that Rule Number 3 works, be a good friend. Just because we're stuck in a dorm together doesn't mean we can't be real friends. I_ s that it?"

"One more I added on the back." Mikoto replied, watching Shokuhou flip the page.

" _The Kuroko Clause."_ Shokuhou looked up at Mikoto with a bewildered expression, and Mikoto nodded that, in all seriousness, she had written that. _"All rules written above are subject to temporary termination should Shirai Kuroko become a hindrance too any. Varying on the situation, she is allowed to have her memories erased, attitude rectified, or knocked unconscious."_

"So?" Mikoto asked hopefully as Shokuhou lowered the paper. "What do you think? I think it's pretty fair, personally." She didn't get a response at first, as Shokuhou just stared down. "Uh...Shokuhou-san? Anything?" Finally, the blonde sighed and turned, placing the paper back down on the counter. After a moment, the paper flew backwards, and Mikoto caught it, looking down at it curiously.

Shokuhou's signature sat at the bottom of the sheet, making her smile.

"See?" She asked, grabbing a pen of her own and signing the agreement on the coffee table. "I knew we could handle this like adults if we made the effort." Shokuhou didn't reply as Mikoto went to her room, placing the agreement in her desk drawer. "So, I was thinking we go and get some groceries. What do you think?"

"I have homework to do." The blonde replied. "Do it yourself."

"I have it to do too." Mikoto said as she make her way back out. "Why don't we just do it together later?" Shokuhou squeezed her pencil and turned her head slightly to look at her.

"You really want this to work out, don't you?" She asked, and Mikoto just smiled. Sighing and dropping her pencil, Shokuhou stood and rolled her eyes. "I guess, it'd be more entertaining then the work anyway."

* * *

"Can we get this?"

"Sure."

"This?"

"...I guess."

"How about this?"

"Shokuhou-san, you're like a small child." Shokuhou frowned as she lowered the box of donuts.

"I just have a sweet tooth." She replied innocently. "What's wrong with that?"

"We have to carry all of this back to our dorm, remember." Mikoto said, and the blonde groaned at the thought of physical labor. "Are you up to carrying all of this?"

"Can't we get someone to help us?" She asked, clutching the donuts to her chest.

"Like who?" Mikoto asked.

"...I don't know, maybe a store worker?"

"They'll have to work, not carry our groceries back."

"But we're two teenage girls!"

"So?" Shokuhou raised an eyebrow at Mikoto's question.

"Don't tell me you're that innocent, Misaka-san." Mental Out said, causing Mikoto to go red as she realized what she'd said. Shokuhou was suggesting they seduce someone into helping them. "I'll be incredibly disappointed if you do."

"I-I'm not!" Mikoto defended as the blonde giggled. "But I'm not...doing that for a little help." Shokuhou pouted at her words, acting hurt.

"But I want them..." She whispered, holding them forward like a small child would when asking to keep a pet. "Really bad..."

"If you want to carry it all back, go ahead." She watched Shokuhou think this over for a moment before she shrugged and put the donuts in the cart. "Alright, let's go." Mikoto knew the majority of their groceries consisted of sweets Shokuhou had pulled from every aisle, but she had to admit the blonde had a good eye for them. Now Mikoto was wondering if she'd be allowed near them when they returned home.

"Onee-sama!" Mikoto flinched instinctively as the high pitched voice shouted her name. "Says MISAKA as MISAKA jumps on her older sister!" Mikoto didn't have time to react before a small figure tackled her from behind, arms around her neck.

"Gah!" She shouted. "Last Order! Don't do that!" The youngest of the Misaka clones giggles gleefully as Mikoto managed to pull her off, holding her at arms length to observe. The clone looked around twelve, so her resemblance to Mikoto had grown considerably. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Helping with the..." Last Order's sentence was cut off by her one and only guardian.

"Brat!" His deep voice roared from another aisle. "Get back here, now!" Last Order giggled as Accelerator ranted, and Mikoto released the clone.

"I'm talking to someone, Accelerator! Says MISAKA as MISAKA teases you!"

"Tch! Just wait until I get my hands on you!" Last Order winked at Mikoto and ran away, disappearing into another aisle just as Number One appeared in their aisle. "Oi! Third-rate!"

"Yes, Accelerator?" Mikoto asked as he limped up to them, a basket in his hand. She and Accelerator were on much better terms than before, but his attitude was a bit much sometimes.

"Where's the brat?" he hissed. "I know she was here."

"Don't know." Accelerator growled and his eyes landed on Shokuhou, who flinched at his angry gaze.

"I'm guessing you're Fifth-rate?" he asked.

"U-Um, yes!" She answered all to hastily, and Accelerator nodded, before his eyes fell downward. At first Mikoto was going to reprimand him for being a pervert until he clicked his tongue.

"Nagatenjouki, huh? I keep forgetting you go to school, unlike your clones Third-rate."

"Oh, uh, yeah." Mikoto nodded, looking down at her uniform. "I heard you go there too."

"Supposed to, but don't really care." Accelerator shrugged. "I've skipped two years of school, they'd put me in your class."

"We'd be quite the force, then." Mikoto said. "Three Level 5's in one class, anyway." Accelerator seemed to consider this before he shrugged indifferently.

"Whatever." He pushed his way past them both, walking after Last Order. "See you Third-rate, Fifth-rate."

"See you." Mikoto replied, watching the albino disappear into another aisle. As soon as she did, Shokuhou grabbed Mikoto by the shoulders.

"Was that _the_ Accelerator?" She hissed weakly.

"Um...Yes?" Mikoto asked, wondering why Shokuhou asked.

"He's terrifying! I thought he was going to kill me!" Mikoto chuckled as Shokuhou took a minute to calm down.

"He's not half as bad as he used to be, honestly." Mikoto said, remembering the cold, angry front the albino had used before. "He's almost like a normal human being now."

"And you trust him to look after that clone?" She asked, and Mikoto nodded. "Why?"

"She isn't dead yet." Mikoto replied. "And she trusts him. Good enough." Shokuhou didn't reply as they walked down the rest of the aisle. Mikoto watched the blonde toss more sweets into the cart, smiling to herself at the thought of her trying to carry all of it back on her own. _Oh this is going to be good..._

* * *

"One more! You're so close!" Mikoto said with a teasing tone as Shokuhou shot her an angry look. They were currently standing in the elevator, and Mikoto was watching Mental Out try and carry all of her bags at once. It was rather funny, truthfully.

"You could help me." She hissed, managing to get the last one on.

"I said you'd have to carry it home, though." Mikoto replied. "I did, didn't I?" All she got in response was an eye roll and angry murmurs, but she didn't mind. As long as they could still work it out. Once they got to their door, Mikoto opened it with her ability and the two stepped inside, Shokuhou practically collapsing.

"Finally!" She said. "I'm tempted to nap right her after all of that."

"We still have to put it all away." Mikoto pointed out, causing the blonde to fall on her face. "Come on, it won't take that long."

"But I'm tired! You know I'm not good with physical labor!"

"Better to get started now, am I right?"

"...You're the devil in a fifteen year old girls body." Mikoto snickered as Shokuhou made a big show of standing and and sluggishly putting things away. Mikoto swiftly placed all of her side of the groceries away, and sat down on one of the stools near the window as Shokuhou worked slowly.

"You know." Mikoto said, resting her head on the counter. "If you didn't make such a big deal about putting it away you'd be done."

"Or my lovely roommate could help me." Shokuhou muttered, probably so low she assumed Mikoto didn't hear. "Wouldn't that be nice, seeing as you made me sign that stupid agreement?" Mauling this over for a moment, Mikoto stood and went to work putting away the sweets, not looking at Shokuhou until she was done. When she did look at the blonde she had stolen her seat at the counter, grinning cheekily.

"And you said I'm the devil." Mikoto said, and Shokuhou stuck her tongue out at her. "Now, go do your homework."

"But I'm too tired for that!" Shokuhou groaned, her head falling down onto the counter. "Can't we do it tomorrow?"

"It's due tomorrow." Mikoto pointed out, earning another groan. "Come on, we'll do it together."

"Meaning you'll do it all?" Shokuhou asked hopefully.

"No."

"Ugggghhh!"

* * *

"I told you already I have no idea!" Mikoto pushed her bangs out of her face as she stared down at her work, which was currently a combination of near nonsensical math equations and eraser marks. She was quite certain Shokuhou's was the same.

"Nothing?" Mikoto asked again.

"No!" Shokuhou was sprawled out on the couch, staring up at the work in her hand. "Not even if I put it in the light!" The two of them were having immense difficulty figuring out the answers, even as two very smart girls. That was probably the part that made Mikoto angriest, the fact that she was having so much difficultly. She recalled a time when she'd been able to do Touma's high school work without a second thought, but this was a whole other level compared to the idiot's assignments.

"What if we went about this the wrong way?" Mikoto asked, flipping the sheet upside down and staring at it. "Did we carry everything right?"

"At this rate I can guarantee I carried those groceries better than these numbers, Misaka-san." Shokuhou's paper fluttered out of her hand and onto her face. "I give up, it's to hard!"

"Don't say that, we're smart enough to do this!" Mikoto scolded, earning more groaning. "Now come on, help me out."

"I caaaaaannn't!"

"Try!"

"No! I already have for three hours! None of it makes sense!" Mikoto sighed and slammed the paper back down on the counter, sparks dancing across her forehead. Shokuhou was right, nothing made sense on their paper anymore. "Can't we just say we didn't understand?"

"Would that work?" Mikoto asked. "I mean, it was only the first day..."

"Exactly!" Shokuhou bounded from her seat and over to Mikoto, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Let's just let him explain it to us tomorrow!" Mikoto let the blonde shake her by the shoulders gently until she sighed.

"Fine, you right." Mikoto said, turning around and standing up. "I can't understand it, so we'll let him explain."

"Yes!" Shokuhou said, celebrating. "Now, I'm hungry. What's to eat?"

"Am I supposed to cook you something?" Mikoto asked, earning a puppy eyed stare from Number Five. "I'm too tired for that, though. Let's go out."

"Do we have too?" Shokuhou asked, pouting. "People might see us!"

"And?"

"They'll start to talk! I don't want people assuming we're friends or something."

"I feel like your priorities are all wrong." Mikoto said to herself as the blonde overreacted. "Come on, we'll just get something quick at Joseph's."

"Ugh, fine."

* * *

"See, it's not that bad." the two level 5's were currently in a booth at Joseph's eating their meal. Although at the beginning Shokuhou had gone out of her way to hide her face and slouch down as low as possible to avoid recognition, she had since sat up and picked at her food. "Almost no one is looking."

"Almost." the blonde repeated. "Which means people are."

"Might be my fault." Mikoto said with a laugh. "I am the face of level 5, after all. The rest of you barely show your faces."

"Sogiita-san and I show up sometimes." Shokuhou pointed out, referencing Number Seven. "No one else, though." Mikoto knew she had a point. Accelerator rarely did social events. Number Two, Dark Matter, had disappeared some time ago. Mugino worked in the underground, so social events weren't really her thing, and almost nobody even knew who Number Six was. Shokuhou, Sogiita, and Mikoto were the most well known. "But yeah, it's definitely you."

"Ah, let them stare." Mikoto replied, knowing some people were. "I'm used to it, and you should be too from your clique."

"Do you think I brainwash those girls to stare at me all day?" Shokuhou demanded, and Mikoto shrugged.

"I don't know, do you?" She challenged. Shokuhou shook her head and muttered something incoherent, causing Mikoto to laugh.

"Can we just get out of here before someone asks us for our autograph?" She asked in a tone as sweet as the candy they'd bought earlier. "Please?"

"Yeah yeah, let's go."

* * *

Ruiko and Uiharu were hoping that taking Shirai out would help, but so far all the Judgment officer with pigtails did was hang her head and moan about Misaka. Ruiko knew that Shirai would miss her old roommate, but this was a bit ridiculous. Especially since, when they had retrieved her from her dorm, she'd been lying face down on Misaka's old bed, not moving.

"So how was your day, Shirai-san?" Ruiko tried, not getting a response from the Tokiwadai student. "You could liven up a bit, you know."

"How can I liven up when Onee-sama is rooming with another woman?!" Shirai shouted angrily, drawing unnecessary attention to herself. "Who knows what they might be up too right now!"

"Probably at home, doing homework." Uiharu replied, trying to be helpful.

"I should be the one helping her with homework!" Shirai shouted in response. "I am her life partner! Her herald! It isn't fair!" Ruiko did her best to tune out the rambling of her friend, but she continued to list off all the reasons why she and Misaka were made for each other.

"She a lot harder to deal with without Misaka-san." Ruiko whispered to Uiharu, who sighed and nodded.

"A lot, yes." The flower head agreed. "Maybe we need to knock her out again."

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea." Both girls turned to try and knock the girl out, but saw her standing at the edge of the sidewalk, staring ahead. "Shirai-san?" Ruiko asked, following her gaze into Joseph's, and choked.

There, inside the restaurant and right at the window, was Misaka-san and a blonde girl with starry eyes. The blonde said something and Misaka laughed, and she said something back.

"Onee-sama..." Ruiko flinched at the cold, deep tone that came out of Shirai's mouth. "Is having dinner...with another girl..." With that, the teleporter growled and teleported away, causing both girls to pale.

"I feel bad for Misaka-san." Uiharu said weakly, and Ruiko nodded.

"Yeah, I do too."

 **Time for a Kuroko intervention! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	4. New Additions

**I'm back, so let's get on with it!**

"Can we go yet?" Mikoto rolled her eyes as she scrolled through her phone.

"Give me a minute." She replied, earning a groan. "Oh, come off of it."

"But it's soooooooo boring!" Shokuhou said, her chin resting on the table. "And people are still looking."

"Alright, we'll just..." Mikoto was about to put her phone back down when it buzzed. Bringing it back up, she furrowed her brow in confusion at the notification at the top of the screen.

 _Saten: MAYDAY! MAYDAY! CODE RED, CODE RED! RUN, MISAKA-SAN! RUN!_

"What the hell?" Mikoto asked, rereading the message. Just as she was about to respond, the door to Josephs's was thrown open. Looking over, Mikoto almost had a heart attack.

Kuroko stood in the door, panting heavily.

"Uh oh." Mikoto said weakly as Kuroko looked up, eyes glowing with rage.

"ONEE-SAMA!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, lunging forwards at the speed of sound. Mikoto didnt't have enough time to dodge her, and was constricted into one hell of a hug.

"Kuroko!" She shouted, "Get off of me!"

"Onee-sama! How dare you get dinner with this girl! Are you cheating on me?!"

"C-Cheating?! We aren't together!"

"Yet! How can I trust you when you finally realize your love for me!?" Mikoto looked around and realized the amount of people staring. That and Shokuhou was hiding her face behind her hand.

"Shokuhou-san! Help me!"

"How?" She hissed, sliding down in the chair and peeking out from behind her hand. "You're a lost cause, Misaka-san."

"Please!" Shokuhou rolled her eyes and reached into her bag. Before Mikoto could ask what she was doing, Shokuhou pulled out her remote. "W-Wait a minute..." It was too late. Shokuhou clicked a button while it was aimed at Kuroko, and the teleporters grip slacked considerably.

"Kuroko clause, remember?" She asked as Mikoto stared. "Now, how about we do a little of this..." After pressing a few more buttons, Kuroko got up and stood facing the rest of the people in Joseph's.

"Attention!" Kuroko shouted, raising her hands. "I am a perverted, lesbian middle schooler! I have an unhealthy obsession with the Number Three Level 5, Misaka Mikoto! However it would appear that Misaka-san is straight as can be, and doesn't like me like that! Give her your sincerest condolences, as she is too nice to actually shoot me down or hurt me too much. That is all." With the impromptu speech out of the way, Kuroko marched mechanically towards the door and outside, where Saten and Uiharu found her.

"How was that?" Shokuhou's voice brought Mikoto out of her stupor. Railgun looked over at her roommate, who was casually putting her remote away.

"Why?" She asked weakly.

"I think I did you a favor, personally." Mental Out replied, looking back up. "At least people understand now. Look, they're even not making a bigger scene about it." A quick look around confirmed her statement. No one was coming over and telling them to leave, nor were they asking any questions. All she heard was whispers about their levels.

"...T-Thanks, I guess." She finally said, and Shokuhou nodded.

"Oh, one more thing." Mikoto nodded. "My ability won't last forever, and it weakens the farther away she gets. Plus, I neglected to remove her memories of this encounter. So, I think it's time to go, don't you?"

"...That was your plan, wasn't it?"

"Partially. That and it would've been social suicide if I allowed that to go on any farther. So, shall we go?"

"Yeah, alright. Let's go." Mikoto stood up and followed the blonde out, and they walked in silence. Truthfully, she was glad Shokuhou intervened. Had she not it could've been a lot worse than it had been.

"Misaka-san!" Mikoto stopped and turned just in time to get assaulted by Saten and Uiharu, both started asking questions. "How'd it go?!"

"Did Kuroko cause too much trouble?!"

"Why was she so calm leaving?!"

"Did she touch you anywhere and you fried her brain?!"

"Guys, enough! Calm down!" Both third years took a minute to calm themselves. "It was fine, thank you. I had some help." Mikoto looked back at Shokuhou, causing Saten and Uiharu to look as well.

"Ah, so this is your new roommate!" Saten said, and Shokuhou jumped at being addressed. "I can see why Shirai-san would be jealous, she's very pretty!"

"What's your ability?" Uiharu asked.

"M-Mental Out." Shokuhou replied. It took all of three seconds for Saten's eyes to widen.

"Wait a minute..." The Aero Hand esper said quietly. "Blonde...busty...starry eyes...Mental Out...I got it!" Saten shouted suddenly, brandishing a finger at Shokuhou. "You're the fifth strongest Level 5! Shokuhou Misaki aka Mental Out!" Uiharu squealed happily, meanwhile Shokuhou just looked confused.

"Ah..." She began.

"Misaka-san!" Uiharu said. "You didn't tell us you were rooming with her!"

"I didn't see a reason too, it's nothing special." Mikoto smiled at the shocked and taken aback look on her roommates face. "More like bad luck, actually."

"How?" Uiharu asked.

"Misaka-san and I aren't on the best of terms." Shokuhou answered. "More like we can't stand each others presence, actually." Shokuhou cast Mikoto what appeared to be a glare. "So maybe we should go."

"Can you not wait a few minutes?" Mikoto asked back, getting a shaking head. "What are you so impatient for?"

"Every second I'm out here with you is another second Shirai gets farther away and may break free of my control." Mikoto paled at the thought. "Also, I'm seen with you. Can. We. Go?" Mikoto knew she'd never escape if Kuroko found her again that night, so she nodded and turned to Saten and Uiharu.

"Like she said, I'm done for if Kuroko finds me."

"Don't worry." Saten said, crossing her arms. "We can deal with Shirai-san. You get out of here." Mikoto nodded gratefully and turned to run after Shokuhou, who'd gotten impatient and walked away.

"Thanks again for doing that." Mikoto said as they rounded the corner away from Mikoto's friends. "I really do appreciate it."

"You're welcome." Shokuhou said. "You're friends are...interesting, to say the least."

"Just excitable, really. You should've seen them when they met me."

"Whatever." Mikoto pursed her lips to prevent saying anything that would start a fight, and stayed that way until they reached the grounds of Nagatenjouki. Once the elevator ride up was finished, they walked to their door, and paused outside.

"I was worried this would happen." Shokuhou murmured, staring down at the problem. "Seems it started a bit earlier than I thought."

"What is it for?" Mikoto asked, extremely confused.

"One of us, obviously." Shokuhou bent down and picked it up, observing it. She sighed after a moment. "It's me."

"Oh." Mikoto watched her roommate stare at the flowers that had been left outside the door, pondering how had left them. Them being for Shokuhou confirmed it wasn't Kuroko. "I hope this doesn't become a regular thing. I'd hate to turn down all those guys."

"Hm, ditto." Shokuhou watched the flowers for a moment before turning and throwing them off the side of the building. The two watched them cascade to the ground and fly everywhere before entering their room. Mikoto had a sinking feeling it would become a thing. It was the first day of classes, and they were already getting gifts. Somehow, she pictured high school guys would've been more direct. Even if it was only affection. "Well it was fun." Shokuhou said sarcastically. "But I'm going to have a shower. Any objections?"

"No." Mikoto replied. "Go ahead." The blonde nodded and disappeared down the hall, and Mikoto threw herself down on the couch, wondering if any other guys were going to try anything the next day. Things would go downhill if they did. "Still, I suppose it's kind of nice of them..."

* * *

Mikoto agreed to wait for Shokuhou as she went into the cafe to get something to eat. Mikoto had already stolen several of of her roommates donuts, so she was good until later. The blonde disappeared to go and get something to eat. Mikoto sighed and leaned up against the wall. She would've gone to class on her own if she remembered the way. Although she''d managed to find her way once, going with Shokuhou would just be a time saver.

"Isn't that Misaka-san?" Mikoto turned at the voices to find a group of five girls walking up to her, all smiles. "Wow, it's such an honor to meet you!"

"Thanks." Mikoto replied.

"You know," One of the other girls said. "You should hang out with us later, I'm sure you're a lot of fun.

"Ah..."

"Yes! You totally should. How about it?" Mikoto didn't know what to say. The girls gave off the wrong kind of vibe, and she didn't like it.

"Well...I..."

"Misaka-san." Mikoto turned to find Shokuhou standing behind her, coffee in hand. "What's going on?"

"Oh, hey Shokuhou-san." Mikoto said. "These girls were just talking to me." Shokuhou gave the girls a weird look, one that was returned. After a second or two, Shokuhou stiffened.

"Come on." She said, grabbing Mikoto's hand roughly and dragging Mikoto away. "We have to get to class.

"Hey!" Mikoto said indignantly as she was dragged away. "That was kind of rude, don't you think?"

"Shut up." Shokuhou advised. "Listen up. Don't ever listen to those kinds of girls. Ever, got it?"

"Why, what's the big deal?" Mikoto demanded.

"They're like vultures." the blonde replied. "they try and befriend you, and next thing you know is you're their bitch. Don't listen to a damn thing they say."

"...Thanks, I guess." Shokuhou nodded, and Mikoto observed the girl closely. It wasn't like Shokuhou to care like that. So, Mikoto decided to tease her. "They wouldn't have got me if you'd eaten at home." they reached their classroom and Shokuhou rolled her eyes

"It isn't my fault you don't know how to get around." Shokuhou said. "Just find ou..." Shokuhou squealed unexpectedly, causing Mikoto to jump and drop the remainder of the doughnut.

"What the hell was that?" She demanded, glaring at the back of Mental Out's head. Shokuhou pointed inside shakily, and Mikoto followed her gaze to where she sat near the back and the window, and a girly sound escaped her lips as well. n the seat right behind hers that hadn't been occupied the day before, sat a certain someone. That someone had white hair, angry red eyes, and a cane leaning against the wall next to his seat. Both girls dipped back out into the hall and began to panic.

"Why's Accelerator here?!" Mikoto hissed, trying to avoid suspicion as her classmates filed inside.

"I don't know!" Shokuhou replied, equally as panicked. "Did he not say yesterday he didn't have any intention to go to school?!"

"He did say that!" Both of them thought long and hard before Shokuhou snapped her fingers.

"I got it." She said confidently. "He sits behind you, you go and ask him!"

"Wha...!" Mikoto didn't get to reply as she was shoved into the class ahead of Shokuhou, and didn't want to draw any special attention to herself. Walking towards her desk slowly, Mikoto slid in the seat quietly and faced straight ahead. She didn't know what she was supposed to say to him, but luckily he spoke first.

"Oi oi." He said, and Mikoto stiffened. "Kind of rude to ignore me there, third-rate." She knew now there was no backing away and acting like she didn't see him, so she turned slightly to meet his pissed gaze.

"Hey Accelerator." She greeted with false enthusiasm. "Why are you here?"

"I go to school here, idiot." He replied simply, and sparks danced around Mikoto's head. "Did you forget that?"

"You said you had no interest in attending, though."

"I didn't, still don't. However, Last Order told Yomikawa all about her beloved Onee-sama who went to my school now. Next thing I know I'm in the car being dragged here against my will. There you go, simple as that?"

"So you're being forced to be here?" Mikoto asked, and Accelerator nodded. "That doesn't seem like the Accelerator I know."

"Tch. So I gave in and came, what's the big deal?" he asked irritably. "Besides, it isn't like I've had anything better to do since the city calmed down. All I used to do was walk around and beat up Skill-Out members. Although I may miss my 3 o'clock with them tonight, I didn't have anything planned before that." Mikoto nodded and turned back around, casting Shokuhou an unsure glance. She had no idea if Accelerator was lying or not, but it didn't matter. It occurred to Mikoto, right as class started, that she didn't have anything to hand in.

"Uh oh..."

* * *

Ruiko knew Shirai was upset, but this was a new level of upset. She and Uiharu had come over to try and coax the girl out of bed, only to find her face down in Misaka's old bed, moaning loudly about her Onee-sama and how she'd been stolen away by the 'blonde starry demon'. Ruiko was certain she could fill a book with Shirai's rambling.

"Come on, Shirai-san." Uiharu said. "Konori-senpai is going to wonder where we are."

"I don't care!" She shouted into the pillow. "How can you be thinking about Judgment work while Onee-sama is rooming with another girl, Uiharu!?" Uiharu didn't say anything in response, so Ruiko winged one for her.

"Wouldn't you much rather it like this, though?" Ruiko asked, earning one f the most menacing glares she'd ever gotten from the Tokiwadai girl.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean, Saten-san?" She asked lowly, and Ruiko flinched.

"I mean, you know, Misaka-san could be hanging out with Touma." Ruiko watched this new information go through Shirai's head. "But she isn't. Plus, she and Shokuhou-san aren't on the best of terms either."

"Hmmm." Shirai said, sitting up. "You make an excellent point, Saten-san. I would much rather her stay away from that ape. Still, I am not comfortable with her living arrangements."

"I still think it's better than anyone else." Uiharu said, finally jumping in. "Shokuhou-san said herself they aren't that great of friends."

"I suppose." Shirai said with a sigh. "As long as she isn't with that ape, I don't see a problem."

* * *

"You're crazy, you know that Biribiri?" Mikoto huffed in irritation at Touma's words. It was after school and Mikoto was just wandering around looking for something to do. Once she ran into Touma, her anger went on an all time high and she blew out the power to several surrounding shops. After that she chase him around for a little bit and demanded he fight her, having both stopped near the park to rest.

"This is your fault and you know it." Mikoto told him, and he sighed. "Stop getting me so angry and stuff like this won't happen."

"If you had a longer fuse maybe I'd stop setting you off. What did I even do, anyway?"

"You..." Mikoto stopped, realizing she'd totally forgotten what he'd done to anger her in the first place. "Never mind, it's not important. At all."

"You don't remember, do you?" Mikoto faltered and glared at him, and he laughed it off awkwardly. "Neither do I."

"You never know in the first place, idiot." After catching their breath, the two of them started to walk back in the direction of the Nagatenjouki dorms, so Mikoto could be rid herself of him. The small talk consisted of the usual bickering and name calling, mostly on Mikoto's part. Just as they rounded a corner, Mikoto paled. Thinking quickly, she grabbed Touma by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in between the buildings, both of them making it a tight squeeze.

"What the hell?!" Touma asked angrily, but Mikoto shushed him. Peeking out from behind the buildings, Mikoto watched Kuroko and Uiharu walk towards their Judgment branch, talking lowly.

"I'm an idiot." She hissed as the two entered the building. "I totally forgot this way brings us past Kuroko's Judgment branch."

"And you said I'm an idiot." Mikoto put her head back in the alley and was about to tell Touma off, before she realized their proximity.

They were practically nose to nose, and this in turn set Mikoto's face on fire. Touma made a face at her.

"Your face is red." he informed her, which only made it worse. She felt like her embarrassment and ability had worked together to short circuit her brain, as no words came out. "Oi, earth to Biribiri. Can you hear me or not?"

"I...I...Ah...We...G-G-Get away..." Mikoto finally managed, backing away as much as the alleyway allowed. It wasn't much, and Touma closed the gap almost immediately to look at her closely.

"Are you sick or something?" he demanded, placing a hand on her forehead. "You're burning up something fierce."

"I..." Mikoto couldn't find the words to reprimand him or say anything, nor could she find the energy to free herself from the predicament she'd put herself in. "I'm fine..."

"You sure? Maybe your dehydrated or something..."

"M-Misaka-san? Kamijou-san?" Both of them froze and turned their heads to the open street, where the person in question stood, a shocked expression on her face.

"It's not what it looks like, Shokuhou-san!" Mikoto blurted, freeing herself from the alley and pleading to her roommate. "We...I...He was just..."

"I think it's exactly what it looks like." Shokuhou informed her quietly, malice all to apparent in her tone. "You and Kamijou were..."

"No, no we weren't! Right idiot?!"

"R-Right." Touma agreed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Nothing." Shokuhou's gaze shifted between the two of them silently before she grabbed Mikoto by the arm, dragging her away.

"W-Where are we going?" Mikoto asked weakly, her head still recovering from everything that had just happened.

"Home." Shokuhou hissed.

"What f-for?"

"I have a little addition to our agreement."

 **So, Shokuhou decides to lay down the law on the Touma situation. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	5. Locked Out

**Back again! Oh, and thanks to Lord Arthas for telling me to read NT 11, for Shokuhou and Touma's backstory. Really helped out!**

 **Enjoy!**

Mikoto knew she was in trouble because Shokuhou didn't speak at all while she was dragged back home. Mikoto did her best to prevent tripping up and falling, but Shokuhou's rough grasp made it difficult. Once they reached home again, Shokuhou shoved the electromaster forward, presumably to unlock the door. Mikoto did as she assumed was expected, unlocking the door and allowing them to enter. She was forcibly shoved down on to the couch, and she looked back at Shokuhou.

"Stay." The blonde said, tone very irritated.

"But..."

"Stay!" Mikoto stiffened and nodded, Mental Out disappearing into her room. This left Mikoto to her thoughts. What had Shokuhou so miffed? Had Mikoto done something without realizing it? That couldn't be it, she'd done everything in her power to be nice to the blonde. Frowning as she thought, Mikoto heard stomping approaching her, and she looked just in time to get a piece of paper thrust into her face. "Read and sign it." Shokuhou commanded. Mikoto took the paper and held it as she read it.

 _The Touma clause_

 _Under no circumstances should Misaka Mikoto be in the same room as Kamijou Touma alone, just the two of them. No mater what the situation, no matter what happens, they cannot be alone._

 _Ever._

"Um, what?" Mikoto asked, looking up from the sheet in her hands. "Why not?"

"Don't play stupid." Shokuhou hissed, "I can read you like a book, Misaka-san." Mikoto reddened at the blonde's words and reread the agreement addition, before she frowned.

Why are you exempt from this?" She asked. Her question made Shokuhou look like a deer in headlights.

"Eh?" She asked.

"Oh you know, I'm just asking why I can't be alone with Touma, but you can be." Got her. Mikoto saw the heat rise to Shokuhou's face, which signaled to Mikoto she struck the right chord. "Honest mistake, maybe?"

"D-Don't be stupid!" Shokuhou said quickly, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I-I don't need to be included, I don't like him!" Mikoto knew that was a lie, it was written all over her face. She'd spent enough time with Kuroko to know what qualified as the 'love face', and Shokuhou was trying to conceal it.

"So Touma would be okay to agree to this, then?" She asked. "I'll be sure to tell him why it's been written up and by who." This only caused the red to deepen on Mental Out's face, and Mikoto grinned. "I'll go find him, hold on..."

"For the love of God!" The paper was snatched from Mikoto's hands, and the Railgun watched her roommate rapidly erase and rewrite the beginning. Upon it being handed back to her, Mikoto saw Shokuhou's name now included, and her signature on a second line at the bottom of the page. Smiling and signing the agreement, Shokuhou sighed. "Could you have been anymore difficult?" She asked.

"Nope." Mikoto replied innocently. "Just like being difficult."

* * *

It was the week after Touma's clause had been added to the agreement, and Mikoto was in class. At least she thought she was, but she was falling asleep. She'd been feeling rather drowsy all morning, but it really hit her in math, her final class of the day. If she could just get out safely, she could sleep at home. Her eyelids drooped and she sat straighter up in an attempt to ward off the sleepiness. She couldn't really focus on what Itagaki-sensei was saying, it would only put her to sleep even more. She yawned quietly, feeling a pencil jab her in the back.

"Stay awake, third-rate." Accelerator whispered. "Wouldn't want to get caught sleeping, now would you?"

"I can't help it." Mikoto whispered back. "He's so boring."

"Agreed. Luckily I'm close enough to the back and behind you that I can use my phone. Lifesaver, really. I'd have jumped out the window already without it."

"Lucky you." Mikoto replied, closing her eyes and resting her head on her hand. "I can't do it...Are you writing any of this down?"

"No, why?"

"Damn. Well, I'll need the notes from someone, and I know for a fact Shokuhou-san isn't paying attention either." Accelerator was quiet for a minute, presumably to look at Shokuhou, and he snickered.

"She's in the same boat as you, third-rate." Mikoto cocked her head slightly to the right to find Shokuhou unconscious, her head resting on the desk. Her back was rising and falling rhythmically, which only made it harder to fight off the drowsiness. Slowly but surely, Mikoto lowered her head down to rest on her arms, closing her eyes and drifting off to the sounds of her classmates answering questions. It was peaceful, being able to sleep. She had no idea math equations made such a good lullaby. Just as she was about to lose consciousness completely, she heard a loud snap.

"Misaka Mikoto!" Mikoto sat bolt right up in her chair and looked around quickly, finding all of her classmates staring at her. Some looked like they were laughing, others seemed to be pitying her, and a few pointed to the front of the class. Slowly, she looked over at the front to find the problem.

If you were looking for a stereotype of teachers, one did not have to look any farther then Mikoto's teacher, Itagaki-sensei. He was a middle aged, brown haired with a little gray, glasses wearing, slightly wrinkled, angry looked man. And currently, that angry glare was directed right at her.

"Y-Yes?" She asked weakly, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Itagaki frowned.

"Sleep on your own time, young lady. Class is for learning."

"Sorry." Mikoto muttered.

"As a matter of fact, you can sleep in detention after class today."

"What?!" people giggled under their breath as she shouted out. Itagaki nodded.

"You heard me." He looked out at the other people. "And if you all find that so funny, anyone laughing can join Misaka after class." That quieted everyone down pretty fast, as no one wanted to spend their time in class after class. "Now, back to what I was saying..." He proceeded to go back to the lesson, and Mikoto muttered angrily to herself.

"Smooth move, third-rate." Mikoto didn't need Accelerator's two cents, but he kept going anyway. "I warned you, didn't I?"

"Shut up." She hissed. "Or I'll get in trouble for talking too."

"Oh no, wouldn't want that." Mikoto decided to ignore Number One before she started a fight with him, and doodled all over her empty page until the bell rang. She had maybe thirty minutes until detention actually started, so she decided to use this and escape to the halls and get something to wake her up. She shoved money into the vending machine near the entrance and watched food pile up at the bottom, and her phone buzzed. Taking it out, she saw the text from Kuroko.

 _Kuroko: Onee-sama! Do you want to hang out with us in a little bit? Uiharu and I don't have any Judgment stuff to do, so we're going out!_

Mikoto rolled her eyes when she saw the little heart at the end of her sentence, and placed her sweets under her arm to text back.

 _Mikoto: Sorry Kuroko, I can't. Have detention in a few minutes._

 _Kuroko: Onee-sama?! What did you do?!_

 _Mikoto: Fell asleep in the middle of class._

 _Kuroko: Oh no, Onee-sama! Are you not getting enough sleep?! Should I move in and help?!_

 _Mikoto: Wha...no! I'm sleeping fine, but math bores the hell out of me!_

 _Kuroko: Oh Onee-sama, you don't have to be ashamed to admit you miss me._

Mikoto did not miss Kuroko. As irritating and useless as Shokuhou could be sometimes, she'd take the unhelpful Level 5 over the perverted teleporter any day. Mikoto didn't remember how nice it was to wake up alone in her own bed until she moved out.

 _Mikoto: I'd admit it, but I know you don't like me lying to you._

 _Kuroko: Oh Onee-sama, must you be so cruel?! I could feel the electric whip of love from here!_

 _Mikoto: Don't be like that, we'll try again some other time._

 _Kuroko: Ugh, but I miss youuuuuu..._

 _Mikoto: Gotta go, Kuroko. Bye._

Mikoto ignored the next three times her phone buzzed and shoved it back in her pocket. Taking the remainder of her sweets, Mikoto unwrapped a few and walked back in the direction of her classroom, ignoring the looks she received for eating so much food.

"Isn't that a bit bad for your figure, Misaka-san?" Mikoto rolled her eyes as Shokuhou joined er on her walk, leaving her posse for a moment.

"Shut up. Shokuhou." Mikoto growled. "You didn't get caught sleeping."

"Lucky me." She replied in a sing song tone, and Mikoto rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I'm going to be out for a little bit, so I won't be home when you get out of prison."

"Okay, whatever." Mikoto replied, offering her roommate a stick of Pockey. Shokuhou took it and bit into it. "Why don't you make yourself useful and get more groceries?" Shokuhou groaned at the prospect, which made Mikoto roll her eyes. "I won't be there, so go crazy with the Mental Outting people to help you."

"Hey, why didn't we think of that the first time?" Shokuhou asked.

"I did." Mikoto replied. "But I'm not as lazy as you, so I didn't say anything."

"Of course you did." they reached the class again, and Shokuhou stretched. "Well, I have freedom to enjoy, so see you later."

"Don't mock me." Mikoto replied, earning a raspberry as Shokuhou walked away. "Why do I get the feeling her at the sore alone will only go downhill...?"

* * *

Mikoto had never been so bored as she was sitting in detention. She'd already been here for two hours, and still had another half to go. She wasn't allowed to do anything, not even sleep like Itagaki had advertised. So, she had busied herself by doodling on a piece of paper she'd found sitting on the ground. At the moment she was drawing out her fantasies about using her Railgun on multiple different things.

"Heheh." She laughed softly as to not disturb anyone else. "Shooting a cake would be pretty fun...Or would there be more bits if I did it to a pie?" She decided to find out sometime later, as her drawing was no where near an accurate representation of what would actually happen. She was just about out of space on the page when her phone buzzed against her thigh, and she jumped slightly. She looked around to see if the sound had disturbed anyone, but it had not.

Mikoto knew she was playing it risky pulling her phone out to check it, but her curiosity was killing her. Pressing her arm against the wall to minimize the chances of getting caught, she unlocked the small device and looked at the message.

 _Shokuhou: So, I'm going to sound like a total idiot here, but what is the code to our door?_

Mikoto growled softly at the idiotic question.

 _Mikoto: Shokuhou, I'm still in detention! You're going to get me in trouble!_

 _Shokuhou: And I'm trapped outside our door with my help and the food! What's the code?_

 _Mikoto: It's..._ Mikoto swapped her touch pad to the numbers, and both thumbs hovered over them. It took Mikoto all of five seconds to realize she didn't know the code either. She'd never actually unlocked the door with the code, she just hacked the mechanism. Sighing in defeat, she backtracked her old message and sent a different one.

 _Mikoto: I don't know it either -_-_

 _Shokuhou: ?! Why not?...You just hack it, don't you?_

 _Mikoto: Yeah...sorry._

 _Shokuhou: Well now what do I do?_

 _Mikoto: Just go to the headmistress of the dorms, I'm sure she could pull it out of the system for you._

 _Shokuhou: What, and leave my help and the food all the way up here? Not a chance I'm carrying it all back down, or leaving it here._

 _Mikoto: Then stay up there until I get out of detention in half an hour._

 _Shokuhou: Ugh, why did you have to get caught you idiot..._

 _Mikoto: I'm not the one who forgot the door code._

"Misaka!" Mikoto jumped and, in her panic, her phone left her hands and slid into the middle of the class. Itagaki was giving her a murderous glare, one she returned as innocently as possible, even under the circumstances.

"Yes?"

"First it was sleeping, and now texting? Do all Level 5's feel like they can do what they want to?" Mikoto decided it would be best not to bring up the fact that Shokuhou had been asleep as well, Accelerator had been on his phone, and the other Level 5's were all equally as irresponsible.

"Sorry." She said without meaning. "I'll behave better, I promise."

"Maybe another hour in detention will sort you out?"

"N-No, that's not necessary..."

"No no, I insist. Stay while longer." Getting more pity stares from her classmates, Mikoto allowed her head to slam down on the desk in irritation. Getting up and retrieving her phone, Mikoto knew it would be a long year at this rate.

* * *

"I think I have a bit too much." Misaki said to herself as she stared at the three carts of junk food in front of her. This was what Misaka got for allowing her to go grocery shopping on her own. "I think I can just ditch these two right here...No! This one has all those sour candies in them! I'll just put them in this cart...There we go!" Misaki was successfully transferred everything she wanted into one cart, but there was still no way she could carry it all home on her own. "I wish I was old enough to drive, damn it..." Pulling out a remote from her bag, Misaki looked around for some sap to use her ability on. All she saw were old people whom she would feel bad for using, and people either to weak looking or young to help her.

Now Misaki had a problem. She couldn't part with all of this food, but she needed help. Not even all of the workers seemed helpful. She leaned against the cart and sighed, knowing she might have been in trouble.

"Isn't there anyone who can help me...?" Misaki asked weakly, preparing to slid to the floor in defeat. Just as she did, she spotted him. Spike black hair, generic white school shirt. Misaki grinned. "Do I really want to go there? I mean, the agreement does say I can't be alone with him..." Misaki looked around at the other shoppers. "Than again, I'm not." Grinning devilishly, Misaki made sure she was presentable before calling out to him.

"Kamijou-san!" She called, causing the boy to turn. "Over here!" Misaki smiled as brilliantly as she could as Touma approached her.

"Hey," He said. "your Biribiri's roommate, right?" Misaki nodded. "What do you need...Was it Shokuhou-san?" Misaki found it incredible the idiot somehow remembered that.

"I need your help with this." She said, gesturing back to the cart in dismay. "My pretty little arms can't carry it all."

"Why do you have so much food?" Kamijou demanded. "I mean, how much can two girls eat in one week?"

"Misaka-san eats like a bear." Misaki lied, "Which if a lot and often."

"Well, where is she?" Misaki giggled at his question.

"Currently incapacitated back in detention." She replied, and Kamijou laughed.

"Detention, huh?" He asked. "Doesn't sound like Biribiri, what'd she do?"

"Fell asleep." He chuckled, and Misaki pouted. "So can you pweeease help me?"

"Sure, come on." Misaki grinned thankfully and watched as he pushed the cart towards the checkout for her, because he was just that much of a gentleman. Misaki knew she shouldn't try anything, and she wouldn't.

* * *

Once they had payed for everything, they began the chore of hauling it all the way home. Of course Misaki had Touma carry almost everything, as that was the only reason he was even there. It took them a while, obviously, but they eventually reached the dorms and took the elevator up to the right floor.

"Finally." Kamijou said, cracking his back and standing up straight. "Now, unlock the door and we can go in."

"Alright, hold on." Misaki turned to the door and placed her hand on the keypad. She was about to enter the code when her mind drew a total blank. She paled when she realized she didn't actually know the code. "I, uh...forgot the code to the door."

"You what?" Kamijou demanded. "How did you forget?"

"I never usually enter it, Misaka-san does it."

"Text her, then." Misaki nodded and pulled out her phone, texting the question to Number Three. After getting a snark response that was not required, Misaki asked again for the code.

 _Mikoto: I don't know it either -_-_

Misaki stared at the screen of her phone for a minute, trying to figure out if the Railgun was messing with her. After a moment, she found out the girl just hacked the door instead of open it, which meant they were locked out.

"We're locked out." Misaki reported, and Kamijou stared at her in shock.

"Biribiri doesn't know it?" he asked weakly.

"She just hacks the door, we'll have to wait a little bit.

"..Such misfortune..."

 **So, Shokuhou and Touma are locked out! I hope you enjoy, leave a review!**


	6. The Exception of Touma

**So, back to the locked out duo! Enjoy!**

"So, where's Biribiri?" Misaki looked over at Kamijou, who was propped up against the wall.

"She should've been out by now." Misaki agreed. "Hold on, I'll see." Pulling out her phone, Misaki texted her roommate again.

 _Misaki: Where the hell are you Misaka-san?"_

 _Misaka: I got caught texting and have to stay another hour, so thanks._

 _Misaki: How are you so bad at not getting caught?! Ugh, you're the worst..._

 _Misaka: This is your fault! You keep texting me!_

 _Misaki: Is Itagaki-sensei not looking or something?_

 _Misaka: He left for a minute, but I'm not risking sneaking out and getting caught by him or he'll kill me._

 _Misaki: True...Wait, what the hell am I supposed to do?!_

 _Misaka: Figure it out. Just go and get the code from the dorm mistress._

 _Misaki: I suppose I'll have to..._

Misaki sighed and pocketed the phone, turning to Kamijou.

"It would appear I have to go and get the code from the dorm mistress." She told him, and he nodded.

"Alright, I'll stay up here until you get back." Thanking him with a nod, Misaki left down the elevator, hoping that it wouldn't take that long. Once she got to the bottom, she made a beeline right for the office and walked inside, glad to be freed from the prying eyes of people around the fountain. You would think, due to it's prestigious, that people would be accustomed to seeing people and Level 5's like Misaki. Apparently not.

"Hello?" She called, hoping for the kind old woman to hurry. After a few moments, Onoda-san appeared.

"Ah, Shokuhou-san!" She greeted, "What can I do for you?"

"Well, ah..." Misaki started, sweat dropping. "I may or may not have forgotten the code to my door, so..." She heard a soft laugh from the other women, and smiled weakly.

"Some do, hold on." She began to clack away at the keyboard, Misaki waiting as patiently as possible. After a few moments, Onoda frowned. "This stupid thing...This always happens..."

"Something wrong?" Misaki asked.

"The systems being all slow today." Onoda replied. "Updates to the software and all that." Misaki nodded and tapped her finger against the counter, waiting as the little machine in front of them whirled slowly. "Oh come on, this is a bit ridiculous..."

"Just how many updates are there?" Misaki asked, out of curiosity.

"It may just be this computer." She replied earnestly. "It's been acting up lately."

"Ah, of course..." Misaki fiddled the remote in between her hands, waiting. All of the sudden as she spaced out, Onoda paled. "Something the matter?"

"I-It crashed." She reported weakly. "I don't think it's coming back, either."

"Well, now what?"

"Well, I do have all of our students on file in the back."

"Which means?" Onoda looked up weakly as she laughed awkwardly.

"That I can get you your code, but it'll take some time. You know, the non-technological way." Misaki groaned and let her head hit the counter, sliding down to her knees. "I-I'm sorry, really."

"...It's fine." Misaki replied weakly, her cheek pressed against the counter. "I suppose it can't be helped. How long will this take?"

"Well, first we'll have to go into the basement, find family names under the letter S, find your file, then get the code, so..." Misaki watched Onoda do a mental count. "Maybe thirty minutes?"

"..."

"Shokuhou-san?"

"..And I made fun of Misaka-san for getting detention..." Onoda laughed as she walked away from the counter.

"Don't worry, with the both of us it might not take that long." Misaki knew she had no choice but to listen, so she trudged behind Onoda towards a door in the back of the building. She opened the door and descended down a flight of stairs, Misaki right behind her.

Misaki was quite sure she'd never seen such an creepy room in her life. For Nagatenjouki, this room looked straight out of an old movie. There were rows upon rows of files, all lined up neatly and all the way to the roof, which was at least fifteen feet up. Cobwebs littered practically every corner of said ceiling, with more than a few spider crawling around.

"I think S in over here." Onoda said, walking to the right. Misaki followed, watching the letters of the alphabet pass by her. Finally they reached S, and Misaki's eyes widened at the number of files.

"Where exactly am I?" She asked weakly, and Onoda frowned.

"Uh...I don't know. We don't usually have to use these files, what with technology and stuff. Come on, let's hurry this up." Misaki watched the older woman walk down the aisle and begin looking, her brow furrowing as she did.

"That idiot must have infected my luck earlier..."

* * *

Mikoto knew she never wanted to get detention again, especially with Itagaki. She stared out the window blankly as the time passed as slow as a slug. Every agonizing second the she spent in here was another second of her life wasted. She could've been using this time to study or cure cancer, but she spent it in here. She was about to drop her head down on her desk when Itagaki sighed.

"Go on." He said. "Get out of here." Mikoto looked up with a confused look on her face.

"Huh?" She asked. "But you said I had to stay for another hour, it's only been half that."

"As much as I want to discipline you." He replied. "Keeping someone of your potential cooped up in here is not on my wish list. However, I will not hesitate to punish you in the future." Smiling gratefully at her teacher, Mikoto stood and practically bolted from the classroom, not wanting to see it again until she had too. Once she was certain she was a safe distance away, Mikoto knew she had to go home immediately. Poor Shokuhou was probably dying of boredom. Making her way to the first building, Mikoto wondered who Shokuhou had brainwashed into helping her. Probably someone strong, so they could do all of the carrying. She knew the blonde wasn't one for physical labor, after all. Once she got to the building, she entered the elevator and activated it, going to the third floor. The annoying elevator music entertained her as the machine came to a stop, and she exited the elevator only to freeze in shock.

"W-What the...?" Mikoto could see him leaned up against the wall, outside of her dorm. Why was he here?...For her? Mikoto reddened at the thought until she saw the plethora of bags resting around him, and the puzzle formed itself in her head, which caused her to growl. "Idiot!" Touma jumped and looked over, spotting her.

"M-Misaka?" He asked as she stormed over. "W-Wha...Hey..."

"Don't hey me!" She shouted. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Um..." Touma looked around, spotting the bags at his feet. "...I don't know, actually."

"Hah?" This was all wrong, abilities shouldn't have worked on Touma. Why didn't he know? "You don't know?"

"I..." he rubbed his chin for a minute. "Was I here to talk to you?"

"Not unless I forgot that too." Both stared at each other for a second, both confused. If Shokuhou had used him for help, why didn't he know why he was here?

"Alright Kamijou-san, I got the...Ah!" Both turned to find the blonde in question standing there. Mikoto noted that she seemed rather sweaty and worked up. "M-Misaka-san! What are you..."

"I got out early." Mikoto replied, crossing her arms angrily. "Care to explain this?"

"I..." Shokuhou seemed at a complete loss, and she seemed nervous. "I-I'll just unlock the door.." Pushing past Mikoto to do so, Touma took initiative and picked up bags, carrying them inside, Mikoto didn't, she just watched angrily, trying to figure out what was going on. Once everything was inside and Shokuhou instructed Touma where he could put what, Mikoto grabbed Mental Out by the shirt and dragged her inside her room, slamming the door behind them as she did.

"So," Mikoto started, scaring Shokuhou. "I thought we had an agreement on him?"

"W-We do, but..."

"So why the hell is he here?!" Mikoto hissed, getting in Shokuhou's face.

"It's a long story!"

"I'm listening." Shokuhou frowned at Mikoto's attentiveness, but eventually sighed.

"Before he met you, he met me." She explained. "And much like you, he took initiative to protect me if I got into trouble." Mikoto hadn't known that, but nodded. "And once...well, it got out of hand."

"And? What the hell does this have to do with anything?"

"...When it got out of hand, I tried to help by cutting off his sense of pain so that the response team save his life. As a result, I accidentally destroyed his memories. Of me, that is."

"...?" Mikoto stared at Shokuhou, trying to see if this was a lie. She seemed honest enough, but there was no way to tell.

"Don't you get it?" She asked, now seeming angry. "No matter what, he can never remember me! Even if we had a three hour conversation and I turned my back for one second, he'd forget what my face looked like! Why do you think I didn't include myself in that agreement?! Because even if I'm alone with him, it doesn't matter! The only way he remembers me is if I'm with someone else!"

"Hah?" Mikoto asked, sweat dropping. Shokuhou took a minute to breath, and most likely calm down.

"When I saw him at the store, he remembered my name." She told him. "By all accounts, he shouldn't be able to do that. So, while I had to help Onoda-san dig up my file for the passcode..."

"Couldn't she just get it out of the system?" Mikoto interrupted, and Shokuhou shook her head.

"Her computer killed itself in front of me. Anyway, while I dug around for my missing file, I had time to wonder how he knew my name. Then it occurred to me: When I saw you two the other day, you called me by my name."

"And? What are you getting at?"

"I'm saying he remembered my name through his memory of being with you." She replied. "That's why I didn't bother with putting myself in the agreement. For him to know who I am, he can't be alone with me."

"..." Now Mikoto just felt bad. She had been prepared for an excuse, but she sure as hell wasn't ready for one like that. And although she herself couldn't read minds, she didn't need to too see that Shokuhou wasn't lying. She sighed and backed up. "..Sorry, I had no idea."

"Well now you do." Shokuhou said, flipping her hair in irritation.

"Hey!" Both girls looked at the closed door at the sound of Touma's voice. "You guys okay?" Before Shokuhou could come up with response, Mikoto beat her to it.

"We're fine, it's my room idiot." She told him. "Quite honestly I'm surprised you didn't just barge in. That's usually your style anyway." Touma chuckled from the other side of the door.

"Unless you two are naked my misfortune doesn't see the need to barge in." he replied, earning a smile from both of them. "...Unless for some reason you both are, then I can barge in if you want me too."

"Why the hell would we both be naked?" Mikoto demanded, before she sighed irritably. "Never mind, don't answer that."

"Yeah," Shokuhou agreed. "Misaka-san got away from one lesbian roommate only to get another. I'm sure he's already fantasizing it." Mikoto and Shokuhou both remained silent afterwards, before Mikoto stormed to the door and flung it open, revealing Touma standing there, looking spaced out.

"You pervert!" She shouted. "You are fantasizing!"

"No I wasn't!" Touma shouted, probably smelling the ozone from the high school girl. He tried to run, but Mikoto was having none of it. She gave off an burst of electricity and the next thing she knew, the lights went out.

"Great job, Misaka-san." Shokuhou said sarcastically. "You knocked the power out."

"It's his fault!" Mikoto growled, pointing at the empty door. "He was thinking about it!"

"Let him, he's got nothing better to do. Besides, I'm quite sure your thing for him will never die out for something trivial with me." Shokuhou grinned sarcastically. "Or are you that kind of girl?"

"T-that kind?" Mikoto asked weakly, earning a wider grin. "Wha...Are you suggesting I'm bi?!"

"No, not at all." Shokuhou replied innocently. "Besides, we already got one power surge thanks to you, we really don't need another."

"Ugh, and you say I'm the difficult one..."

* * *

Nobody suspected Mikoto was the one who knocked out the power in the first dorm building, which was a lifesaver really. Apparently the excess amount of electricity she'd released during attacking Touma had overloaded the generator, and burnt it out. However the story was that the generator was old and faulty anyway, and no one ever considered asking the Level 5 electromaster that lived in that building. However, the week after, one of those rare mid-spring heat waves hit, making everyone in the building suffer considerably. Shokuhou was especially verbal in her complaints, often doing so sneakily in front of other classmates in an attempt to get Mikoto to burst and admit to the generator being her fault. Mikoto didn't intend to crack however, intending to take the secret to her grave. The only solace she got was powering a small fan with her powers to cool herself off, which really didn't work anyway.

However, she had a saving grace.

Saten had invited her to a movie, in an air conditioned theater. Mikoto couldn't resist, especially in her condition. She was currently in her room making sure she didn't look too sweaty, and smiled upon the completion of her task. She left her room to find the now completely normal sight of Shokuhou sprawled out on the couch, wearing nothing but a white t-shirt and her underwear. To add on to the strangeness of such a sight, Mikoto could see math work over the girls face. Raising an eyebrow at the girl, she walked over to the side of the couch and tapped her roommates leg.

"What?" The girl asked weakly from below her math work.

"I'm going out." She reported. "Don't get yourself locked out."

"Remember the code." Mental Out shot back. "Where are you going?"

"..With my friends." She replied. She neglected to mention the AC.

"Your friends? Haven't heard of that place, where is it?" Mikoto rolled her eyes at the comment and continued to the door. Her hand made contact with the doorknob, and she paused. As much as a problem Shokuhou was, Mikoto knew she didn't outright hate her. Plus, the blonde had been doing an excellent job at not being outright rude and everything else Mikoto hated about her. _I'm going to regret this, I can already tell..._

"Hey, Shokuhou-san." A grunt from the addressed told Mikoto she was listening. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Why would I do that?" the blonde asked. "They're your friends, not mine. Plus, I'm not really much of a 'people I can't brainwash' person."

"Careful, you might enjoy yourself." Mikoto replied sarcastically. "Are you sure?"

"Quite sure." Silence fell upon the pair. Mikoto sighed.

"The theater's air conditioned."

"Hold up, let me get dressed!" Mikoto watched as Shokuhou bounded from the couch to her room in all of three seconds, clearly spurred to accompany Mikoto at the thought of cold air during this stupid heat wave. Shaking her head in disbelief, Mikoto listened to the sounds of Shokuhou getting dressed as quickly as possible. A shower still wasn't possible, seeing as the power was out. However, both girls had used the locker-room showers to clean. Just as the sounds stopped, Shokuhou reappeared. "Cold air?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes, cold air." Mikoto replied, opening the door. The two of them exited only to get blasted by the hot air, which made them uncomfortable. As they reached the elevator, Mikoto looked over at the blonde. "Seeing as Kuroko is going to be there..."

"Shirai's going to be there?!" Mikoto flinched at the tone in which she was addressed and nodded, causing Shokuhou to groan. "Ugh, you could've told me that, now I have to control her all night..."

"How about you try and get along?" Mikoto asked. As easy as it was to just let Shokuhou control the teleporter, the two of them would need some sort of compromise.

"You instated the Kuroko clause for a reason." Shokuhou pointed out. "I intend to utilize it."

"Just try, would you?" Mikoto asked. "We can't just control her all the time, she needs to get over it on her own." Shokuhou muttered something Mikoto didn't catch before she shrugged indifferently.

"Fine, just this once." She said, jabbing Mikoto in the arm. "Don't expect me to be nice to her, either. I don't plan on it."

"Wouldn't expect you to be anyway."

"What the hell does that mean?!"

* * *

"Come on, Shirai-san!" Uiharu yelled again. "We're going to be late!"

"Hold on, hold on!" Shirai shouted back, causing Ruiko to sigh. Leave it to Shirai to make a big deal out of seeing Misaka after a while. The recent high schooler was always busy with her other friends or homework, and when it was neither of those everyone else was busy.

"You'd think she'd want to see her as quickly as possible." She pointed out to Uiharu, who chuckled in agreement.

"I do kind of miss Misaka-san, though." Uiharu said quietly. "She's always with Kongou-san and Shokuhou-san."

"Their schedules mesh better." Ruiko replied. "Misaka-san's roommates are more reliable sources for after class fun then us." Ruiko laughed at her new thought. "Or maybe she doesn't want to be seen with middle schoolers."

"Don't say that!" Uiharu scolded. "Misaka-san would never!"

"I know, it was a joke!" Ruiko said with a laugh as Shirai made her approach. "Finally you're...hah?"

"What?" Shirai asked.

"A-Are you wearing lipstick?" Uiharu asked, and the pigtailed girl popped her lips for effect.

"You noticed, huh?" She asked. "Tonight is the night I make Onee-sama mine. I've got it all planned out."

"I'm sure you do." Ruiko said, standing up straight. "Now can we go?" After getting a nod in confirmation, the trio left the Tokiwadai dorms in the direction of the theater, two of which knew why they were running late. Ruiko didn't know why Shirai hadn't gotten the point that Misaka didn't like her in the way the teleporter dreamed, and honestly it was a little bit tiring to deal with. Especially in times of, what Uiharu and Ruiko had dubbed the 'Onee-sama withdrawal period', the time span in which Shirai didn't get to see the Level 5. The longer she went without Misaka, the worse and worse off she got. The electromaster was a drug and Shirai was an addict. Of course, Ruiko didn't know if drugs resisted like Misaka did.

Not the point though.

Once the three girls reached the theater, walking in the air conditioned lobby was a godsend. Sighing as she enjoyed it, Ruiko walked forward after Uiharu's voice, trusting the smaller girl to lead her somewhere other than into a wall or someone else.

"Onee-sama!" Hearing the shrill voice of the teleporter told Ruiko her enjoyment was over. However, the lack of joy in the tone confused her. Turning to find the girl, Ruiko saw the problem sitting next to Misaka. "How dare you bring her here!"

"What's the matter, Shirai?" the blonde asked innocently. "I was invited here."

Next to Misaka, sat her one and only roommate, the Fifth strongest Level 5 in Academy City, Mental Out.

 **A nice stopping point, me thinks. And oh boy, does Shokuhou have a plan for this outing! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	7. Shokuhou's Master Plan

**Couldn't wait to post this chapter, loved it too much. Enjoy!**

Misaki knew there was no way in hell she could get along with Shirai. Although she'd told Misaka she would, there was no way in hell the perverted teleporter and she could get along, simply not possible. How did she know this, you may ask? She knew enough from their days at Tokiwadai to know that Shirai was not one to get along with someone who got between her and her beloved Onee-sama. She'd heard all of the rumors and then some, so it simply wasn't an option. So, what did she plan to do?

Be as nice and friendly with Misaka, Shirai, and her friends as possible.

This may have seemed a little strange, how was this to solve anything? Well, seeing as Shirai already hated Misaki for living with Misaka, being all nice and friendly was sure to get a reaction. Couple that with her possessiveness, and her pure, sweet attitude she intended to show towards the teleporter who would be sure to show just how much she hated her, and it was sure to start a fire. Currently though, Misaki was smiling right at said Level 4, who seemed as pissed as the last time.

"Kuroko." Misaka said from beside Misaki. "Be nice. She's a friend, you know." Kuroko gasped, clutched her chest, and stared at Misaka in pain.

"Onee-sama!" She shouted. "How could you?!"

"What?"

"She's your friend?! Next thing you'll tell me you've seen her naked!" Misaki laughed, forcing it to sound as genuine as possible.

"Oh Shirai, you mistake me for a pervert." She said sweetly, wrapping Misaka in a one armed hug, confusing Number Three. "I'm just here with my bestie, Misaka-san! Right, Misaka-san?"

"...What?" Was all the girl could manage. Shirai seemed absolutely livid at their closeness, which entertained Misaki to no end. This was going to be so much fun, and the night had only just begun too.

"Besides," Misaki added, "I'm sure it's no big deal, right?"

"Actually, it is!" Shirai shouted. "Tonight was supposed to be the night I officially make Onee-sama mine, and now you're here as my competition!" Misaki forced the growl into girly laughter halfway up her throat.

"Oh Shirai, like I said, you confuse me with a pervert." Misaki grinned suggestively at Shirai. "Although we do live together, and I _hate_ wearing a lot of clothes when it's hot like this..." Shirai's eyes widened, as was the intended result, but the jab got Misaki an elbow to the stomach from Misaka.

"She's such a kidder," Misaka excused. "Apologize, Shokuhou-san."

"I'm sorry your love interest has to see me with next to no clothes on." Misaki said apologetically, pouring it on thick for the middle school student.

"Listen here you! Onee-sama is mine! I know all about how you two are only stuck together until the end of this year, so once this year is over, I will be living with Onee-sama!"

"Fair enough." Misaki replied, standing to look down at the shorter girl. "But that's still a whole, hot summer from now." The growling that came from Shirai's throat was sweet music to her ears, and she spotted the two other girls that Misaka-san was friends with. Who were they, again? Even though it was against her and Misaka's agreement, a quick mental search of the three gave her what she needed to continue the act. "Saten-san, Uiharu-san! Good to see you again!" both girls looked a little shocked at being addressed.

"M-Me?" Uiharu asked, and Misaki nodded.

"Yeah! Remember that time we talked?" Misaki didn't have a lot to go off of, but she hoped it was enough. However, this Uiharu seemed to be overjoyed at being spoken to.

"Of course I do!" She replied happily. "that was after you controlled Shirai-san and made that huge scene!" Misaki laughed with the younger girl for effect.

"So much fun!" Misaki then looked at Saten, who jumped at the look. "And how are you, Saten-san?"

"I-I uh..." The girl seemed at a total loss for words as Misaki smiled at her, which was hilarious. "I-I'm fine."

"Oh that's good! Oh look at the time, our movies about to start!" Misaki did another quick mental search of the others to find out they were watching some romantic comedy, which she could work with. She allowed Misaka to take charge to get the tickets, spending her mental capacity to formulate more devious plans to piss Shirai off. Although she may go overboard, it was all in good fun. After all, Misaka seemed to defend both parties earlier, meaning all Misaki had to do was make her actions as innocent and good-natured as possible.

"Ah, damn it!" Misaki was brought out of her plotting by her roommates voice, who had swore. "I knew I forgot something!"

"What?" Saten asked.

"My, ah...money" Misaka replied weakly, causing the rest of them to roll their eyes. Just as Misaki was about to make a comment about her roommates forgetfulness, she saw Shirai pulling what appeared to be a wallet out. She saw her chance and acted quickly, pushing the teleporter out of the way.

"Don't worry, Misaka-san!" She proclaimed as happily as possible. "I cover it!"

"Uh, what?" Misaka asked weakly at Misaki's innocence. "Are you sure? you don't have to." she shook her head at the option.

"You probably spent so much time in an effort to look so good that you forgot." Misaki said as earnestly as a liar could, causing her roommates to raise an eyebrow and Shirai to growl. This, however, only spurred the girl on. "I'll pay for it!"

"Okay, thank you!" Misaka added, a genuine smile on her face. "I'll pay you back when we get home."

"Think nothing of it, keep your money." Misaki added, even though a refund sounded nice. Then again, why would she want to refund the front row seat she'd gotten to the Shirai Kuroko show? "It'll be my treat!" She heard no objection to this other than Shirai's inane muttering under her breath, so she marched up to the counter and bought them their tickets, the 6/10 guy behind the counter smiling at her as he did so. Ignoring what appeared to be an attempt to flirt with her, Misaki returned and handed out tickets, making sure to smile widely at Misaka when she handed her hers. She even threw in a smile for Shirai, who only growled.

Too easy.

* * *

As they made their way to theater seven. Mikoto felt a hand tug at her sleeve. Turning, she saw Saten standing there, whispering to her to go with her. Telling the other to wait a moment, she followed the raven haired girl back into the lobby, where Mikoto watched the girl look at her in confusion.

"I'm confused." She said.

"Believe me, so am I" Mikoto replied, the image of Shokuhou being so nice making her head spin.

"You talked about her like she was a total bitch!" Saten gushed, smiling widely. "She's so sweet!" Mikoto didn't reply at first, at a loss for words. Saten didn't know Mental Out like she did, so this behavior didn't seem as odd. There must have been some reason Shokuhou being so kind, it wasn't her usual style of interacting with others.

 _How about you try and get along?_

It then occurred to Mikoto the conversation she'd had with Shokuhou prior to arriving. Was it possible Number Five was trying to get along with her friends because Mikoto had asked? It didn't seem likely, but Mikoto couldn't find any other way to describe it.

"I...I don't know." Mikoto finally said. "She's behaving oddly, even for her."

"Seriously, she's so nice!" Saten said. "And here I thought most Level 5's were rude and inconsiderate because of how strong they are." Images of the old Mugino and Kakine flashed in Mikoto's mind, but she didn't bring it up. Sogiita was okay, if a little wild. Accelerator tried to sell a tough image but failed most of the time. She didn't even know who Number Six was, so it made no difference to her who he or she was.

But Shokuhou Misaki?

She was crude, inconsiderate, acted for usually only her own gain, had a very sarcastically endearing attitude most of the time and, worst of all, had prior involvement with the boy closest to Mikoto's heart.

Sweet, thoughtful, and likable weren't words Mikoto would ever use to describe that girl, but here she was, acting just like all of those things. Just what was she trying to pull?

...

Or was she actually trying to be nice for the sake of being nice?

* * *

Misaki didn't know acting nice could be so difficult. With her primary defense dragged away by Saten, Misaki was now alone with Uiharu and the she-devil. Uiharu tried desperately a few times to defuse Shirai's insane questioning, but Misaki was thoroughly enjoying herself with them. After all, she didn't give one serious answer.

"What is your intention with Onee-sama?" Shirai demanded.

"To take her for all she's worth." Misaki replied, watching Uiharu redden at her words. It was really fun screwing with Shirai, she took everything to seriously. Quickly projecting her joking intentions into Uiharu's head, the girl lightened up and looked at Misaki curiously, who nodded to confirm the message. This seemed to make her a little relieved, but this didn't help Shirai.

"I'll have you know, blondie, that Onee-sama and I have slept with each other many times!"

"How many of those times was against her will?" Misaki quipped, causing Shirai to falter. "And did she allow you to walk around exposed?"

"No..." Shirai said, and Misaki made a thoughtful sound.

"Oh." Was all she said, making Shirai frown even deeper.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The teleporter demanded. Misaki giggled.

"Like I said, I hate wearing clothes when it's hot." Misaki grinned suggestively at Shirai. "And being in my room gets _really_ stuffy before long." Shirai looked thoroughly mortified, which almost made Number Five lose the act and fall into a fit of laughter. It was too easy to get this girl angry! "I'll have you know I had nothing on but underwear and a shirt before I came here and Misaka-san didn't bat an eye."

"Lies!" Shirai shouted. "Lies and deceit!"

"Hey, you're making a scene." Misaki growled, losing her playful attitude as people began to stare, which she hated. "Stop it."

"Well maybe if you didn't flaunt your body in front of me I'd stop being so angry!"

"What the hell are you two yelling about?" The voice belonged to Misaka, who was now returning with Saten. Shirai took this as her opportunity.

"Onee-sama!" She said sadly. "This heathen says she walks around with no clothes on! Is this true?!" Misaka rose an eyebrow at Misaki, who blinked a few times to look innocent.

"Why are you talking about your weirdness with my friends?" Misaka asked, causing the other girls to widen their eyes at the lack of denial in her voice. Misaki shrugged the question off.

"She asked what I meant when I said it, so I told them." She replied, and Misaka face palmed.

"Don't go around telling people you walk around our apartment naked, it's weird."

"Onee-sama..." All four girls looked down at Shirai, who had sunken to her knees at Misaka's feet. "She...She...really does walk around naked?" The question made Misaki giggle like an airhead, and Misaka sighed.

"Yeah, she does." She confirmed. "It's no big deal though, it's just really hot because I..." Misaka stopped herself abruptly, causing Misaki to curse under her breath, Railgun had almost admitted to knocking out the power. "Because the building still doesn't have power, yeah. That's it."

"Why do you let her do such blasphemous things in your presence?!" Shirai wailed, and Misaka raised an eyebrow.

"Blasphemous?" She asked weakly, a pink tinge rising to her cheeks. "I'd walk around like that too if I had less shame..."

"You should anyway." Misaki joined in. "I'm sure the boys in the building would appreciate it." This news of boys in their dorms almost sent Shirai into another tirade, but Misaka smartly covered her friends mouth with her hand.

"Let's just go see the damn movie now, 'kay?" The others nodded in agreement, hoping maybe this would defuse Shirai's anger.

It did not.

As soon as they walked into the theater, Misaki made it her mission to sit next to Misaka. If for not pissing of Shirai, then for her being the only one she really felt comfortable with. Her friends were okay, but she felt the most comfortable near the Railgun, which Misaki mentally added to the list of things she never thought she'd think about. She must've been in hell if Misaka was the only person who made her comfortable.

"No no no." Shirai said from the aisle. "I sit next to Onee-sama."

"Just sit down, Kuroko." Misaka said weakly, Misaki being sure to put on the biggest innocent stare she could manage. Shirai growled again, which almost made Misaki laugh again. Like she said, far to easy.

"But I want to sit next to youuuuu!" Shirai said angrily.

"Shokuhou-san is my friend too." Misaka defended. "Plus, it's not a big deal."

"She can sit between Uiharu and Saten-san, not me!"

"Why not you?" Misaka countered, the authoritative tone she was using making Misaki grin innocently again. "Shokuhou-san doesn't know Saten-san and Uiharu-san like you and me, let her sit next to me for God's sake."

"It's okay." Misaki said, deciding to test something. "It makes no difference to me."

"No no, you stay put." Misaka ordered, confirming what Misaki was testing. "Kuroko doesn't have any right to make you move." Sparks danced across the girl, who glared at the teleporter. "Right, Kuroko?"

"...Right, Onee-sama." Shirai said in a defeated tone, sitting down glumly between the other two. After she did, the opening credits to the movie began to roll.

"Don't take Kuroko too seriously." Misaka told her, making her look over at the electromaster. "She's usually not this bad."

 _I can't imagine why, that perverted pigtailed weirdo._

"Why'd you stand up for me, though?" Misaki asked. "It really doesn't matter to me where I sit."

"I've learned a lot living with her before." Misaka answered, smiling genuinely. "First and foremost is, if you back down once, Kuroko believes you will all the time. Never back down from her, no matter what. Plus, she'd try and snuggle with me or kiss me, which I hope you don't intend on doing." Misaki chuckled at her words, actually feeling sort of grateful.

"Unless you want to fulfill Kamijou-san's wildest dreams, then maybe." this joke earned her a joking smack on the arm, which made the teleporter look antsy.

* * *

If Ruiko was totally honest, she was having more fun listening to Shirai growl as Misaka and Shokuhou talked in hushed whispers and giggling whenever a hot guy showed up on the screen. they weren't talking loud enough to disturb anyone mind you, in fact not a soul except for Ruiko and Shirai noticed at all. The absolutely tormented look on the teleporters face almost made Ruiko laugh, which made her feel a little bad.

As silly as it was for Shirai to torment herself over a simple, hushed conversation, Ruiko knew just how much Shirai really did love Misaka. It kind of made her sad Misaka seemed to think so lowly of said feelings.

Then again, Ruiko had not been touched and spooned by Shirai multiple times without consenting, so maybe she really had no place saying Misaka thought lowly of Shirai's love for her. Plus, Shokuhou really seemed like a nice person. It had confused Ruiko thoroughly as she acted so nice, which contrasted to what Misaka told them in a weird way. Although the Number Three had said the girl was acting strangely, Ruiko didn't know what that meant, how did she normally act? Not knowing her well enough to pass judgement was the problem, really.

As the end credits began to roll and people filed out, the girls also decided to get up and leave. Once they reached the packed lobby, Uiharu yawned.

"That movie sucked." She complained. Ruiko nodded.

"Total waste of money." She said, looking apologetically at Shokuhou. "Sorry you payed for such a trashfest." Shokuhou waved her off without a word.

"It was fine." She said sarcastically. "Especially when Mike's actor showed up...whenever. God' he's attractive." The Level 5 elbowed Misaka. "Right, Misaka-san?" The girl shrugged, but her cheeks betrayed her.

"I...I guess." She replied. Shokuhou laughed for effect.

"Oh come on, you told me yourself!"

"Tch, whatever." Misaka's clicking of her tongue signaled she was down talking about it, and Shokuhou smiled wryly.

"Maybe because he reminds you of..." Shokuhou was cut off as Misaka clamped a hand over her mouth, but Saten already heard what she'd been ready to say.

"Reminds her of who?!" She asked excitedly, bounding towards the silenced blonde.

"Famiyur Fouka." Shokuhou tried, but Misaka pushed her hand down harder on her mouth. The blonde ripped her way free with a laugh. "Sorry, I can't say apparently." Ruiko wanted to push further, but Misaka wasn't about to reveal the name of her crush so easily. Apparently though, Shokuhou knew who it was. How was it a girl Misaka seemed to hate knew who she liked, but her closer friends didn't? It seemed odd, at least to Ruiko.

"Well regardless, I'm starved." Ruiko sat, placing her hands behind her head.

"Seriously?" Misaka asked. "You ate all the popcorn."

"Lord knows they don't fill those things up so they make a profit on selling less than advertised." Ruiko added. "And I just remembered this fantastic restaurant just around the corner from here. We should go."

"Sounds nice." Uiharu commented. "I know the place too, it's really good."

"We can't make Shokuhou-san pay for that too, though." Ruiko said with a laugh.

"I guess I am a little hungry." Misaka added, turning to Shokuhou. "What about you?" Shokuhou made a face as she thought.

"Yeah, I can eat."

" I know, you eat like a pig at home." She joked, but Shokuhou grinned mischievously.

"Yet somehow," She said, striking a seductive pose on the sidewalk. "I have the body of a Goddess." Misaka chuckled and rolled her eyes, before she looked over at the fuming Shirai, who hadn't spoken a word since they left.

"You hungry?" She asked, and Shirai seemed surprised to be addressed.

"I suppose..." She replied, still sounding down about everything. Misaka either didn't notice or didn't care, and trekked onward.

"Alright then, let's go!"

 **I love this chapter, I'll be honest. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	8. Master Plan pt 2

**Back for the second part of the master plan! I also need to let you guys know I now have an update schedule, and this story is effected! Check it out on my profile! Enjoy!**

Misaki knew she was enjoying this way to much. It was so such fun she almost wanted to feel bad.

Almost.

The constant complaints and irritated sounds from the teleporter were more than enough to spur her on. To top it all off, everyone thought she was just being friendly. Even Misaka, who was suspicious.

"This place seems kind up upper class." She commented as they entered, seeing the amount of people in suits and dresses. Misaki suddenly felt extremely under dressed around such people, but Saten and Uiharu seemed unaffected.

"Ignore it, let's eat!" Saten shouted happily, "Besides, we have Shokuhou-san!"

"Eh?" The blonde asked. "What do you mean?"

"You can just make everyone think we're dressed up all nice." Misaki realized what Saten was getting at. Basically the girl wanted Misaki to make everyone in the restaurant think they were dressed up. She could do that, no problem. Digging around in her handbag, Shokuhou found her remote and aimed it directly upwards, effecting everyone inside the store but her and the others. The dresses she implanted in everyone's heads were simple enough, just enough to make them seem dressed for such a place.

Except Shirai, anyway.

Misaki had gone to excruciating detail to make sure that everyone thought Shirai was wearing one of the ugliest, puke green and disgusting things Misaki could think of. Of course, it still had to look like a dress and not puke, she she thought about it before casting it out.

"See?" Saten asked. "Easy."

"I wish I could see my dress." Uiharu said wistfully. "I bet Shokuhou-san has seen some great ones!" Misaki shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's nothing much." She replied. "Just something an A-list superstar in Hollywood would have."

"All of us?" Misaka asked, almost looking self-conscious.

"Well..." Misaki purposefully looked over at Shirai and snorted, which got the girls attention.

"What was that supposed to mean?" She demanded.

"I haven't an idea what you mean, Shirai." Misaki replied, attempting to prevent a smile from crossing her lips. "It's just...you're dress suits you so well."

"I look hideous, don't I?!" Shirai demanded, raising her voice.

"Quiet down." Misaki threatened. "I may have promised Misaka-san, but I will not hesitate to use the Kuroko clause if I have too." Misaki knew immediately she said something wrong, as everyone looked confused as Misaka face palmed.

"The what?" Shirai asked, all previous anger lost for curiosity. Just as Misaki was about to excuse it, their waiter came over and showed them to their table, and the blonde jumped at the chance, eager to get away from her roommate due to the smell of ozone. Misaka often did that when her temper was on the verge of being lost, so Misaki could take the hint. Once they reached their booth and sat down, with Misaki and Misaka sitting across from each other, Shirai glared at Misaki, who tried to hide behind her menu. "So?" She demanded.

"N-Nothing." Misaki replied, looking away. Misaka sighed.

"Just drop it, Kuroko." Misaka advised. "It's not worth getting thrown out over."

"I want to know what she meant, Onee-sama!" Misaki sighed as Shirai entered a rant, pulled out her phone, and texted Misaka a question.

 _Can I please just brainwash her into shutting up? Please?_

After a moment or two, her reply came.

 _You're doing a great job, just hold out for while longer :)._

Misaki sighed audibly and slid down in her seat a little, not caring what the others thought she was doing. Even though she was just trying to irritate the girl, it was tiring to keep the stupid grin on her face and upbeat attitude present. Once they ordered their drinks, Saten looked at Misaka.

"So, seeing as we haven't reply gotten the chance to hang out since the year started, how's high school?" Misaka placed a finger on her chin as she thought.

"It may just be because it's Nagatenjouki, but it's really hard sometimes. Just last week, for instance, Shokuhou-san and I were up all night doing homework." Misaki sighed at the mere memory of all that work.

"At least we did it." She added. "Itagaki-sensei was in such a mad mood that day." Both girls shivered at the thought of there teacher, who scared them quite thoroughly.

"Itagaki-sensei?" Uiharu asked. "Your teacher?"

"Slaver driver would work better." Misaki corrected, earning a snicker from Misaka and a growl thereafter from Shirai. "The man knows no fear, no sympathy. It's quite tiring, really."

"The only person he's scared of is Accelerator." Misaka added. "For obvious reasons." The two girls nodded in unison, both agreeing with each other.

"How dare this man treat my Onee-sama like that!" Shirai said angrily. "He's worse than that ape! At least the ape _tries_ to be sophisticated!"

"Kuroko." Misaka warned. "It's not a big deal. If I get it, I deserve it. I've learned my lesson in his classes."

"Still," Shirai said. "Detention for sleeping and resting your gorgeous head, disgraceful..."

"Yeah really Misaka-san." Misaki said, winking at her roommate. "Why were you asleep?"

"You were out cold!" Misaka accused, causing Misaki to falter. "The only reason he didn't catch you was because his yelling at me woke you up."

"Thanks for that, by the way." She added with a smile, which made Misaka roll her eyes.

"Anyway," Railgun said, "What about you guys? Anything interesting happening?"

"It's so lonely without you, Onee-sama!" Shirai shouted, Misaki wincing at the looks. "You have to come home to the dorms! Everyone misses you."

"Kuroko I can't live in the middle school dorms, we've been through this." The girl replied, getting a sad look from Shirai. "Don't be like that, I told you this a million times."

"Nothing happening in middle school could entertain high school girls." Saten said, a big smile on her face. "I'm sure you guys are up to date with all the recent drama."

"Not really." Misaka said, leaning back. "I've never cared for that." Misaki rolled her eyes.

"But didn't you hear, Misaka-san?" She asked, raising her hand slightly. "Kawachi-san and his girlfriend broke up the other day."

Got her.

Misaki watched as Misaka turned her head slightly at the news, but tried her hardest to appear indifferent. Misaki knew better though, the couples troubles had spread through the school like wildfire.

"Oh r-really?" Misaka asked. "When was this?"

"A few days ago, I heard it was by text message too." Misaki was egging her on so bad, and she could tell the Number Three was nearing her limit of indifference.

"Wow, who...what a jerk." She tried, stopping herself from asking who had been the one to break up with the other. Misaki sighed, acting sad.

"Apparently she'd been cheating on him with his best friend too." She said. "Sometimes I don't know how she wakes up in the morning."

"..." Misaki knew that if the girl tried to open her mouth, she'd explode into questioning. Shirai, however, growled in disgust.

"Men are so strange." he said. "Obviously she went searching for another suitable specimen because he wasn't doing his job as the man in the relationship."

"It just sounds sad." Uiharu said quietly. Misaki nodded, enjoying watching Misaka keep in her questions. However, before Misaka exploded, the waiter came back and asked them if they were ready to order.

* * *

"This food is to die for!" Misaki nodded at Misaka's words, savoring the rice in her mouth. Somehow the cook had managed to capture the taste of rice, beef, and vegetables perfectly.

"If this were my last meal, I'd want to die right about now." Misaki said, sighing in contentment.

"I told you guys this place was good!" Saten said before she looked a little sweaty. "Even if I do have to pay the bill."

"I'd help, but..." Misaka said, laughing awkwardly. Misaki swallowed her bite and smiled.

"I can cover it."

"No!" Saten said almost forcefully, standing up to make her point. "I can't make you pay for a terrible movie and dinner! That's just rude!"

"I volunteered." Misaki pointed out. "Plus, the way your sweating reveals your wallet can't afford the hit."

"But..how can yours then?" Saten asked, sitting down again.

"All I have to do too pay for something like this is sit in a chair for half an hour and let scientists run scans." She explained. "You know, Level 5's always get the most interesting experiment offers.

"Sounds incredible." Uiharu said. "I wonder what they experiment on with Number One?" Both high schoolers flinched at these words.

 _Level 6 shift._

Even though she had not been involved when it was Accelerator's turn, she'd been right in the middle of it when Misaka was being forced into it by Gensei. Herself, Kamijou, Shirai, and Sogiita had worked overtime to prevent it from happening and saving the sisters in the process, but their was still salt in the closed wounds.

"Probably all the cool stuff." Misaka said, the grip on her chopsticks very tight. Misaki cast her an empathetic glance at these words.

"Yeah." She agreed. Silence fell over the table at these words, the other three not knowing what had caused such silence.

"Hey, that looks really good Shokuhou-san." Misaki looked up at her roommate as she said that. Their orders were totally different, the the chestnut haired girl seemed rather intrigued. "Is it?" It was right around these words when Misaki noticed Shirai watching her, an angry glare on her face.

A light bulb turned on in her head, causing her to smirk.

"Why don't you try it?" She asked innocently, using her chopsticks to pick some up and leaned over the table towards Misaka. No one else thought any thing of this.

To Shirai, it was heresy.

"Thanks!" Much to Shirai's horror and Misaki's delight at the former, Misaka leaned forward as well and took the bite as offered. Shirai looked faint as her beloved Onee-sama leaned back, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Wow that is really good!"

"Right?" Misaki asked, smiling for effect. She wished know she'd had some way to record this, it was hilarious. "Best food I've eaten in a while."

"Not hard to believe, considering how you eat." Misaki grinned weakly, still enjoying Shirai's despair. "Here." Misaki had been too caught up in enjoying Shirai's loss of words, only to notice her pale even whiter. Looking back at Misaka, Misaki saw now that she had leaned back over the table, some of her own meal between her chopsticks.

One look at Shirai told Misaki what she had to do.

Leaning back over the table, Misaki made a point of, as cutely as possible, taking the food and backing off, actually savoring the taste. Couple that with Shirai doing what appeared to be fainting, and it was too perfect.

"E-Excuse me." Shirai whispered, standing slightly. "I-I need to go to the bathroom..."

"Yeah, you have been fidgeting a little." Uiharu agreed. The pigtailed teleporter stumbled away, and Misaki held in her laughter as best she could. How had Misaka survived living with that girl if someone giving her a taste of food made her feel faint?

* * *

Kuroko managed to get to the bathroom without falling over, and then she promptly collapsed over the sink.

"Onee-sama..." She whispered, despair filling her head. "How...Why..." Her mind became plagued with images of the two feeding each other, and she wailed. "Next thing I know, they'll be sharing Pocky sticks...Gah! How can I compete with someone like that?!"

It wasn't fair, Shokuhou was better in every way. She was taller, had a body that was more desirable, a more mature face, a blonde, which everyone knew was beautiful...

"How can she be so perfect?!" Kuroko hissed. "How can Onee-sama live with someone like her?!" Peeking outside, Kuroko could see the blonde she-demon talking with her Onee-sama, Uiharu and Saten as if she wasn't even there. Then, it dawned on Kuroko what was happening.

They were trying to replace her.

It all made sense! Onee-sama living with her! Her peppy, happy attitude! Her way of easily getting along with them! She could see it all now, what the real intention was. Shokuhou was better in every regard except her position in Onee-sama's group of friends, and now she would have that as well...

"No..." Kuroko said slowly, attempting to laugh it off. "Onee-sama would never..."

 _It started with her hating me too..._

 _And Shokuhou doesn't cling to her like Onee-sama claims I do..._

 _And she's a Level 5 like Onee-sama, therefor easier for Onee-sama to relate too..._

Kuroko couldn't let this happen, she was going to be replaced! First things first, she had to find a way to get the blonde to go home. Then, Kuroko spotted a waitress carrying a bottle of wine near their table.

 _Jackpot._

* * *

Mikoto didn't know why Kuroko had seemed so sick on her way to the bathroom, and it sort of worried her. She wasn't allergic to anything she'd eaten as far as she knew, and she'd seemed fine until only at that moment. Kuroko was a big girl though, she could take care of herself just fine.

"Oh look, here she comes." Mikoto turned at Saten's words, seeing Kuroko walking towards them with her head hanging low. "Hey Sh...Shirai-san look out!" The girl looked up in confusion, but only noticed what was going to happen as she slammed into a waitress walking by. The bottle of wine the girl had been carrying sailed into the air, Kuroko grasping for it. She only just managed to graze the bottle, and it happened.

The bottle disappeared.

Kuroko had tried to teleport the bottle where it wouldn't smash, but only succeeded in teleporting the bottle in her haste. This caused the free liquid to fly through the air on it's previous trajectory.

Right into Shokuhou.

Mikoto paled as the liquid soaked into Shokuhou's clothes, the drink having flattened her hair over her eyes. This wasn't good, not at all. Shokuhou had been at wits end a moment ago when she'd texted Mikoto desperately, and now her clothes and herself were soaked in red wine.

"Uh...Shokuhou...san?" Mikoto asked, the girl beginning to shake. Yep, there it was, she was about to lose it and attack Kuroko. There was nothing to be done though, Mikoto knew Mental Out had been holding it in all night. Mikoto looked over at Kuroko as the girl scrambled to her feet, and noticed it.

Kuroko was hiding a smirk.

Had she done that on purpose? Mikoto's veins filled with liquid anger at the thought. Shokuhou had spent all night being as nice as possible while Kuroko was nothing but difficult, and she'd spilled it on her on purpose?

"So sorry, Shokuhou!" Kuroko said, not a hint of actual sorrow in her tone. "I wasn't watching my step!"

"Kuroko..." Mikoto started, feeling the anger intensify. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"W-Wha...? She asked, not at all convincing.

"Why would you...!" Mikoto was cut off by shrill laughter coming from the soaked individual.

"It's okay, Shirai!" Shokuhou said, smiling. "Accidents happen!"

...

...

...

"What?" Kuroko and Mikoto asked at the same time. Shokuhou giggled and wiped her soaking hair from her eyes.

"I said it's fine, it happens." She looked down at her outfit in dismay. "Although I think my clothes may never recover from this." Mikoto didn't understand, Shokuhou was supposed to be absolutely pissed, and she was laughing it off. Mikoto watched the blonde stand. "I'll just go now, I need to try and save my clothes."

"Alright, can't be helped!" Kuroko said, sliding back in the booth all too close to Mikoto, who stood as well.

"I'll go with you." She said, glaring at Kuroko. "You may need help."

"But Onee-sama..." Mikoto ignored Kuroko's desperate plea and began to walk away, but paused as Shokuhou did.

"One thing though." the blonde said. She turned, and Mikoto watched a wad of yen sail through the air and hit the table. "That's for dinner, Saten-san. There's a little more then we need there, so go crazy with desert or whatever."

"A-Are you sure?" Saten asked, picking up the bills. Shokuhou nodded.

"I said I didn't mind." She began to walk away again. "Come on Misaka-san, let's go."

"Coming..." Mikoto replied, watching her roommate with new found respect. Mikoto was impressed. Even in the event of getting her clothes ruined and being soaked in red wine, Shokuhou kept her tongue and her cool. She even payed for dinner and desert in advance to boot.

 _Why though...even I was getting mad, you should be absolutely livid..._

* * *

Shokuhou Misaki was absolutely livid. She growled as she glared at the stained shirt, tempted to throw it back in the washer. However, this would do nothing but waste time, as it would be the sixth time doing so. She had advanced to doing it herself in the tub, having been here for three hours already. It was 3 in the morning, and Misaki gave up.

"Nothing?" Misaka asked from her seat on the counter, and Misaki shook her head sadly. "Damn, sorry about that. I can't believe Kuroko did that..."

Some may wonder why Misaki kept her cool under those perfectly reasonable conditions to get mad. The answer was simple.

To make Shirai the bad guy, not her.

Keeping the nice and all smiles act had made Shirai seem like the one in the wrong, which Misaki knew only angered the girl more. It was more than worth it to see Misaka leave with her and hearing Shirai cry about it.

"It's fine." Misaki replied tossing the shirt into the garbage along with everything else. "I needed a new shirt, anyway."

"Still, for her to pull something like that..."

"I said it was fine." Both girls exited the bathroom into the now air conditioned living room, sighing. "Good thing it's Saturday tomorrow, though. We haven't slept yet." Misaki looked disapprovingly at Misaka. "You could have gone to bed, you know. I didn't need your help."

"But I wanted too." Misaka replied, smiling. "But you're right, I'm exhausted." Saying goodnight, both girls went to opposite ends of the hall to their rooms. "Hey, Shokuhou-san."

"Uh huh?" Misaka asked, looking back to find Misaka in the doorway to her room, staring into it.

"I wanted to, uh...Thank you for trying so hard tonight." She replied, smiling genuinely at Misaki. "It must've been hard with Kuroko constantly on you about something, so I appreciate the effort. Really, thank you."

"Uh..." Misaki tried to ignore the stabbing guilt in her chest. "It was no big..."

"Yes, it was." Misaka interrupted. "I've seen Kuroko when she's jealous, and not many people could handle her like you did." turning back to her room, Misaka chuckled. "So, thanks." She then disappeared.

Misaki quickly entered her own room as guilt stabbed her again. Why did she feel so guilty? Because she hadn't been trying to get along, rather piss Shirai off?"

"Ugh, I'm too tired for this..." Misaki hissed, falling into her bed. "I'll think about it in the morning."

If only she'd gotten any restful sleep before being jarred awake.

 **I'll just leave it there, alright? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	9. The Long Term Plan

**Wow you guys reviewed last chapter! Keep it up! Sorry for the long wait too, I had exams and only finished them recently.**

 **Enjoy!**

Misaki wished she could ignore her phone ringing, but it wouldn't stop. She knew it had only been a little bit since she'd tried to sleep, and the guilt kept her awake. While it began to ring for the fourth time, she grumbled and ran her hand across the other half of her bed, searching for it. When her hand finally touched the vibrating device, she lifted it up to her ear with a yawn.

"Hello?" She asked weakly, trying to act peppy.

 _"Shokuhou."_ Misaki's eyes widened at the voice, but she didn't say a word.

"My my," She said, waking up a little more. "Is that who I think it is?"

 _"You damn well know who it is."_

"Oh Shirai, calm down. It's not like Misaka-san can hear us." Misaki grinned at the growling noise the middle school girl emitted. "Too what do I owe the pleasure?"

 _"You know why I called."_

"I really don't. Say, how did you get my number?"

 _"Irrelevant. However, I called to warn you."_

"Oh? Of what?"

 _"Stay away from Onee-sama."_ Misaki rolled her eyes at the threat.

"Do you know who you're threatening?" Misaki asked, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

 _"Of course I do, I'm not stupid."_

"Never would have guessed."

" _Listen up! You ever pull what you pulled last night and I swear to God I'll..."_

"You'll what?" Misaki interrupted, yawning. "Hurt me? I hate to remind you Shirai, but I can destroy your feeble mind in an instant if I so choose. Not only that, but what if Misaka-san were to, oh I don't know, hear about this conversation?" Shirai remained silent, and Misaki continued, "I'm sure she'll be happy to learn you've been threatening me after the stunt _you_ pulled last night."

 _"Whatever do you mean?"_

"Please Shirai, do not insult my intelligence." Misaki replied, her brow furrowing. "Misaka-san and I both know you spilled that wine on me completely on purpose."

 _"So what if I did? And what if I do keep threatening you? What will you do?"_

"I'll do so many things to your head you'll wish you were never born."

 _"If you so much as lay a mental finger on me to hurt me, I'm sure Onee-sama will have something to say about that."_ Misaki rolled her eyes at the giggling that came over the line. _"So, as I said, keep your distance from her. I can't change your closeness to her right now, but I swear if you try anything..."_

"With how I was acting, I probably didn't convey the message well enough last night, so allow me reiterate." Misaki interrupted. "I'm straight, I'm not a lesbian. I have zero interest in any of the perverted things you do involving Misaka-san. I will, however, continue to be as kind as possible. And do you know why, Shirai?"

 _"Why?"_

"Because the nicer I act to all of her friends and her, and the ruder you act to me as a result, guess who gets labelled as the bad guy?" Shirai made a low gasping sound, and Misaki giggled. "Yep! Little old you. So next time we see each other with Misaka-san in the vicinity, I sincerely hope you get your act together, or I just might replace you after all."

 _"How did you...!"_

"I've been reading your mind since we started the call, I know that's what you're worried about." Misaki yawned. "Now, anything else before I go back to sleep, Shirai?"

 _"...This isn't over, Shokuhou."_

"It would be no fun if it was. Bye-bye!" Misaki hung up and put the device on silent, rolling over to get more comfortable.

At least she didn't feel guilty anymore.

* * *

Mikoto was troubled. Why, you might ask? Shokuhou had, recently anyway, done a complete one-eighty in her attitude. She was nicer, more thoughtful, and just overall a better person.

Mikoto didn't get it. Sure, that Friday night she'd been nice and everything, but only because Mikoto had asked her too. However, it seemed like the attitude from that had seeped into everyday life, and it was almost too weird sometimes.

Of course she could dream up as many possibilities as possible in her morning classes, Itagaki wasn't looking. He droned on and on about equations and everything, but Mikoto wasn't focusing in the slightest. She doodled absentmindedly around her page, listening to Accelerator tap his phone screen behind her. She vaguely wondered what he was doing before the phone in the class rang. Itagaki stopped teaching and went to answer it, talking lowly.

"...Yes, right away." he hung up the phone, cleared his throat, and looked out over the class. "Misaka-san! Shokuhou-san!" Both girls jumped and looked like deer in headlights as they gave their teacher their full attention. "The Headmaster wishes to see you both in his office, right away." A low whisper of 'ooohhhs' and' they're in trouble.' came from their classmates, but both girls ignored it as they left the classroom. As soon as they were out of earshot, Mikoto got poked by Shokuhou.

"What?" She asked.

"We didn't do anything, did we?" Shokuhou asked. "I honestly don't know." Mikoto thought for a moment before she shrugged. Other than occasionally getting reprimanded for not paying attention in class or something, they hadn't done anything major.

"I don't know." She said. "Maybe it's something else entirely." Both girls remained silent as they walked down a flight of stairs towards the office, and when they got inside, the secretary told them to sit and wait. Both did so, waiting impatiently as their Headmaster finished a conversation on the phone. As soon as he did, he opened the door and made eye contact with them.

"Ah, there you girls are." he said, gesturing for them to follow him into his office. They both got up and did so, sitting down in the two seats opposite his desk as he sat down as well. "Before we get down to business, how is your living arrangements?" Mikoto was about to respond when Shokuhou wrapped her in a one armed hug.

"Awesome!" She answered for her. "We're doing amazingly!" Mikoto could do nothing but nod and smile, which allowed a thin smile to pass the Headmasters face.

"Good, see?" He asked. "I told you you could get along."

"...Right..." Mikoto agreed, freeing herself from Shokuhou's grasp. "What was it you wanted to talk to us about?"

"Well, I'm sure you two have noticed since you started school here that we have very high standards." Both girls nodded, they were more than well aware of this. "And, as such, our power development programs are some of the best around." Mikoto had no idea where this was going, neither of them had any reason for power development. "We're having a little presentation for it next week, and I'd like you two too open it."

Both girls stared blankly at their Headmaster for a minute before Mikoto chuckled weakly.

"Why?" She asked.

"You're both two of three Level 5's in the school." He replied. "There are no better people to do it then you two."

"Have you asked Accelerator?" Shokuhou asked. The Headmaster flinched.

"Uh, yes." He said, fidgeting. "He said no."

"Can we then?" Mikoto asked hopefully. She really had no interest in doing this.

"Well...no." Both girls groaned began to object, but he was having none of it. "It won't be that hard, girls. Just go out on stage, introduce yourselves, let the video we've prepared do it's thing, and explain it a little. If all else fails, Shokuhou-san can brainwash everyone. Simple." Mikoto had no points to reasonably object, so she remained silent. "Good, glad we sorted that out."

"Yeah..." After being excused, both walked out of the office in a slump.

"I can't believe he said we couldn't say no!" Shokuhou said angrily. "It's insane."

"He did say you could just brainwash everyone." Mikoto pointed out. "So I guess it doesn't really matter all that much."

"Ugh, whatever." Shokuhou said, ending the talk about the subject.

* * *

"What're you working on?" Shokuhou asked. Mikoto sighed as she rested her head on her hand. The two of them were currently in Joseph's, as school had ended for the day.

"Homework." She replied. "Don't sweat it, you can copy it when we get home."

"Thanks." Mikoto nodded in acknowledgement to the thanks and continued writing her paper. "Don't worry, I'll change some stuff so it doesn't look like we did it together or anything."

"Suit yourself." Mikoto replied, stretching. Mikoto saw the girl lean back against the seat and close her eyes out of the corner of her eye, but payed it no mind. Shokuhou had talked about being exhausted from class, or their teacher. Probably a combination of both, she realized.

"Misaka-san, Shokuhou-san!" Mikoto looked up and Shokuhou cracked her eyes open a bit to see Saten, Uiharu, and Kuroko walking up to them. Two thirds of the group seemed upbeat, but Kuroko almost seemed sad.

"Hey guys." Mikoto greeted as they all squeezed into the opposite side of the booth. "What's going on?"

"Just came to hangout." Saten replied. "What're you doing?"

"Homework." Mikoto replied easily enough. "Cause, you know, Itagaki-sensei will flay me alive if I don't do it."

"Then what about Shokuhou?" Kuroko asked, leaning on the table.

"What about me?" Shokuhou asked, eyes still closed.

"You two are in the same class, yes?" Kuroko demanded, earning a nod from both. "Then why is Onee-sama the only one working?"

"I'm letting her copy it when we get home." Mikoto answered. No one except Kuroko seemed to have any problem with this, who acted as if she'd been shot.

"Onee-sama!" She exclaimed. "You're doing her homework for her?!"

"I'm doing my homework." Mikoto corrected. She elbowed Shokuhou as part of the joke. "I just may lose it for a little bit when we go back to the dorms."

"That would suck, huh?" Shokuhou asked slyly. "It may fall into the wrong hands." Both giggled and smiled at each other, which only seemed to irritate Kuroko even more.

"Besides that," Uiharu said, eyes gleaming. "What are you planning to do for your birthday, Misaka-san?"

"E-Eh?" Mikoto asked weakly.

"Oh yeah, your birthday's really soon, right?" Saten asked, and Mikoto did a mental count. It was April 29th, only three days until her birthday.

She hadn't completely forgot or anything.

"Y-Yeah, May 2nd." She replied with a laugh.

"You have to do something huge!" Saten said. "I'm sure we could come up with something awesome!"

"It's okay guys..."

"No it isn't Onee-sama!" Kuroko said dramatically. "It's your sixteenth! We have to make it extra special!"

"Um..."

"We have to start getting everything ready!" Uiharu added, "We only have a few days!"

"Guys, hold up!" Mikoto said, speaking up to grab their attention. "I don't want to do anything extravagant! It's just a day!"

"Not any day, Onee-sama." Kuroko said. "It's the day you finally decided to grace our dark world with your presence. To light up the darkness in the world!" Kuroko continued into nonsensical fawning, which everyone was accustomed to ignoring.

"Besides for Shirai-sans... whatever that is." Saten said, gesturing to the drooling Kuroko. "We have to do something!"

"I'm good, really." Mikoto replied. "I'd rather not be treated like a princess just because the day I was born is passing by."

"Always so modest, eh Misaka-san?" Uiharu asked, Mikoto shrugged.

"I just don't want you guys doing something huge for no reason." Mikoto told them. "I don't mind."

Birthday huh?" Everyone looked over as Shokuhou spoke for the first time in a while. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"H-Huh?" Mikoto asked.

"Hm, maybe because you already said you don't care." Shokuhou shrugged. "Fine, we won't do anything crazy."

"We're you planning on it."

"...No." Shokuhou replied, obviously making a joke or denying the truth.

"Well, nothing huge." Mikoto replied. "Get me, like, a cupcake or something."

"So be it!" Everyone jumped as Kuroko shouted, standing tall. "I must find Onee-sama the best possible cupcake for her birthday!" Kuroko jumped on the table and pointed directly at Shokuhou, who pressed herself into the seat to back away. "Shokuhou! I will triumph against you! I will have Onee-sama!" With that, Kuroko sprinted from the diner and out into the street, screaming more random things.

"What just happened?" Shokuhou asked weakly.

"Couldn't tell you." Mikoto replied. "She's in her own little world when it comes to stuff like this."

"Like always." Uiharu said weakly.

"Anyway, we won't do anything huge." Saten replied, sitting back and crossing her arms with a frown. "I just don't get why you don't want to do anything."

"I just don't." Mikoto replied.

* * *

Misaki was no fool, she started to formulate a plan as soon as she learned how close Misaka's birthday had been. To maximize happiness in her roommate and irritation in Shirai, Misaki had to do something. Of course, it would be nothing special, just something small like Misaka had suggested. Of course, just because they'd been living together for almost a month didn't mean Misaki had any more of an idea what Misaka was into. Despite being kind and friendly with each other when possible, They usually kept personal interests and such...well, personal. Misaki had no idea what Misaka would like for her birthday, and that was essential to the plan.

"Shokuhou-san." Misaki looked over the back of the couch as Misaka called to her. "Do you need the bathroom?"

"No, why?"

"Okay, I was just going to take a shower." The girl replied.

"Alright, go ahead." Misaki said, returning her attention to the TV. She heard her roommate walk down the hall, shut and lock the door, and the water began to run. This, however, didn't give Misaki any breakthroughs in her plan. Shirai definitely had the advantage in his ballgame, which she didn't like. Looking back on it, the only reason Misaki had chosen to be so nice to Misaka all the time was to piss Shirai off. However, she did appreciate how little effort it took. Misaki frowned and grabbed at her head, attempting to think even harder for something to do. Suddenly, a light bulb turned on inside of Misaki's head.

Misaka's room was empty.

Misaki could go into Misaka's room and snoop around for anything she could do and nobody would ever know. Acting quickly to get as much time as possible, Misaki half walked half jogged towards Misaka's room and slowly opened the door, peering inside. Of course the room was identical to hers, but with the bed hugging the left wall inside of the right. Tip toeing inside, she stood in the center of the room and looked around curiously.

"Now, if I were Misaka-san's secrets, where would I be?" She asked herself aloud. Starting with the obvious, Misaki bent down and looked under the bed, finding nothing there whatsoever. Standing back up, Misaki walked over to the closet and peered inside, moving around some of Misaka's clothes to see if there was anything there. Doing her best to peek at the top shelf, she could still find nothing except a few closed boxes. She reached for them and peeked inside, and covered her mouth to prevent a scream of shock.

At least a million different Gekota collectibles stared back at her, and she nearly had a heart attack.

"So this is where you keep all this crap." Misaki hissed, slowly pushing the box back on the shelf. "I can never unsee the amount of frogs that just stared at me." Trying to shake the terrified feeling from her head, Misaki walked over to the laptop that was closed on the desk, opening it. This revealed a lock screen of Misaka-san and her friends, but that wasn't what Misaki was looking for. Pressing a key revealed the device was indeed locked, and she frowned.

"If I where Misaka-san, what would my password be?" She asked. She tried several things, such as I love Touma, Kuroko is creepy, and various other quirks about the Railgun's life before giving up and closing the laptop again, leaving it as she saw it. The only thing she had left was the stand next to the bed, and she approached it slowly, opening the first drawer. At first she saw nothing, which disheartened her. _Maybe I should just get her some Gekota thing..._

That was until she spotted what appeared to be an advertisement at the bottom. Reaching past the miscellaneous items in the drawer, Misaki lifted out the slip of paper and quickly read it.

 _What is this, some sort of fighting game?_

Misaki knew her roommate was a tomboy, but she didn't know she liked video games.

"This is probably my best bet." Misaki said aloud. "I'll have to look into it tomorrow." Just as she replaced the ad where she'd found it, she heard the water shut off. Panicking, Misaki sprinted from her roommates room and down the hall, throwing herself over the back of the couch and onto it, just barely not missing. She heard Misaka leave the bathroom and into her room, and she waited with baited breath as she listened to her walk around. After a while, Misaka left her room completely dressed, and went into the kitchen.

"Want a drink?" The girl asked, peeking her head over the counter.

"Uh, y-yeah sure." Misaki replied, trying to not act suspicious. Misaka came back and tossed her her can of soda, cracking open her own.

"What're you watching?" She asked. Misaki looked back at the screen it find what she'd been watching previously had ended, and some reality show had started.

"Something stupid." She replied, tossing the remote into Misaka's lap. She didn't pay the least bit of attention as Misaka flipped between channels, she was too busy trying to act innocent, even though whatever remained of her innocence had been lost when she opened that box filled of Gekota stuff. She sighed.

 _The things I do to mess with Shirai, I swear..._

 **Again, really sorry for the long wait! Updates will come faster from now on, I promise! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	10. May 2nd

**Ten chapters? Nice!**

 **Enjoy!**

When Mikoto woke up, she instinctively flinched, her body and mind accustomed to something that didn't happen. She slowly looked around her dark room, finding it devoid of life but hers.

May 2nd.

It was a day Mikoto had come to dread living with Kuroko. The teleporter always woke her up right as the clock struck midnight and tried everything in the book to sleep with her, and Mikoto denied her of this every time. The whole day always consisted of Kuroko's attempts to seduce her, none of which ever did more than make her laugh. The day usually ended with Kuroko wearing lingerie and posing, what Mikoto assumed the teleporter thought was seductively, on her bed and saying she was all Mikoto's.

Truthfully, the whole ordeal made her stomach turn a bit. Kuroko was a dear friend, yes, but she took it too far sometimes. She had the mental scars to show for it. Sitting up and yawning, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and stood. She froze as she reached her door.

 _What's going to happen if I open this door?_

Mikoto frowned and shook her head. _I'm being paranoid, Kuroko's not out there._ Taking a deep breath and opening the door, Mikoto was greeted by exactly what should've been there: nothing. Looking around, there really was nothing. Taking deep breaths and walking to the kitchen, Mikoto ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach as she looked around corners. She knew Kuroko didn't even know where her dorm was, there was no reason for her to be so nervous. Sighing, she sat down at the counter and rubbed the remainder of the sleep from her eyes. She yawned as she heard Shokuhou's door open, and she waited with baited breath.

"Morning." The girl yawned.

"M-Morning." Mikoto replied, not looking up. Shokuhou wandered past her and opened the fridge, making a weird sound before she closed it again.

"Something the matter?" She asked. Mikoto looked up and smiled weakly.

"No, nothing." She replied. Shokuhou sleepily rubbed the side of her head and shrugged indifferently, walking back to her room, presumably to get dressed, and Mikoto breathed a sigh of relief. She was way to nervous for no good reason. Hell, the odds of seeing Kuroko today were slim as it was.

She just hoped the Level 4 didn't try anything.

* * *

Once Shokuhou was ready to go, the two girls left their dorm and towards the main building of the school, Mikoto feeling all to jittery.

"Misaka-san! Shokuhou-san!" Mikoto flinched as someone called her name, and turned to find Kongou running up to them. "Hey!"

"Hey." Mikoto greeted weakly.

"Morning." Shokuhou replied. Shokuhou and Kongou had an understanding and were friendly with each other, which allowed Mikoto to stay out of the conversation completely.

"Did you hear me, Misaka-san?" Mikoto was jerked from her thoughts with a small nudge, and looked wide eyed at both of the girls watching her.

"N-No, I didn't." She replied weakly. Kongou sighed, but smiled at her.

"I said, how's your special day going?" Mikoto flinched.

"F-Fine." She replied, still checking her surroundings for the teleporter.

"What's so special about today?" Shokuhou asked. "It just seems like a normal day." Mikoto looked over at her roommate curiously. Had she really forgotten? It had only been a couple of days since she learned about it, so it was always possible.

"Nothing." Mikoto answered as Kongou opened her mouth. "Nothing is going on today."

"Then why is it special."

"Good question." Mikoto said, casting Kongou a look that told her to be quiet. The last thing Mikoto wanted while she avoided Kuroko was someone else trying to please her. Not that she wanted nothing, just nothing the three of them got to class, Mikoto took her usual seat by the window and zoned out, watching late students and those who were skipping mill around the courtyard outside. Itagaki came in after another few minutes and immediately jumped into their lesson, one Mikoto payed half attention too as the turning in her stomach prevented 100% devotion to the lesson. She just could not shake the thought that Kuroko was going to try something, and it unnerved her greatly. Sighing and doing her best to pay attention, she realized that Itagaki had gone to far along in the lesson for her to know what was happening. Shrugging indifferently, she returned her attention to the window.

"It's going to be a long day..." She murmured.

"Misaka-san!"

"Paying attention!"

* * *

Mikoto shut the door behind herself and Shokuhou, breathing in the cold air in the dorms.

"Thank God that's over." Shokuhou said, throwing herself on the couch.

"...Yeah." Mikoto said. "I'm going to go lie down."

"Alright." Mikoto walked to her room and shut the door, breathing a sigh of relief. Walking over to her laptop, Mikoto sat down and opened the device, knowing that this was going to happen. Making sure she looked presentable, she waited for the message to appear on her screen. Before long, it did, and she gathered her courage before clicking accept.

And her parents appeared on the screen.

 _Happy birthday Mikoto-chan!"_ Her mother said happily. Mikoto smiled, she couldn't help it.

"Thanks."

 _Happy birthday sweetheart."_ her dad said. _"It's hard to believe your sixteen already. They sure grow up fast, eh Misuzu?"_

 _"I know. It seems like just yesterday she was going away huh?"_

"Don't get all emotional on me." Mikoto advised. "I've had a long day as it is." Her parents laughed at this, which made her smile. It was rare she got to talk to her parents like this, both were so busy. Her father especially.

 _"So, tell us all about it!"_ Her mother said. _"How's high school?"_ Mikoto placed a finger on her chin as she thought, smiling weakly.

"It's a pain." She replied, earning another chuckle. "The works harder, the teachers are stricter, and I still have to get up early."

 _"You'll get used to it."_ Her father told her. "T _he first month's always the hardest."_

 _Anything else cool going on?"_ Her mother asked, then grinned slyly. _"Any boys?"_ Mikoto flustered at this, which entertained her mother to no end.

"No! Why would you think that?!"

 _"What about that nice boy I always see you with? Kamijou-san?"_

"N-No!" Mikoto replied. "it isn't like that!"

 _"Of course it isn't Mikoto-chan."_ Mikoto should have known talking to her mother would loop around to the idiot eventually. It always did.

 _"It better not be that way."_ her father advised. _"I'll beat the shit out of him if he comes near you."_

"Come down Dad." Mikoto replied with a smile. "He's an idiot, but he's not that bad.

"Misaka-san?" it was Shokuhou, outside the door.

"Yeah?"

"I'm leaving, I got stuff I need to do."

"Alright, see you." Mikoto replied.

 _"Oh, is that you're roommate?"_ Her mother asked, and Mikoto nodded. _"Well let us meet her!"_

"But..."

 _"Oh come on Mikoto-chan!"_

"...I'll go get her..." Mikoto said, giving up and leaving her seat, opening her door. "Shokuhou-san?"

"Yeah?"

"Come here for a second." The blonde appeared at the end of the hall, and Mikoto gestured for her to come closer.

"What?" She asked. "I really need to get going."

"My parents want to meet you." Mikoto replied weakly, tugging on her roommates arm. "Just say hi quick, or they won't leave me alone."

"Fine, let's do this." Mikoto smiled as Shokuhou followed her into her room Mikoto sat down and shifted her seat so that her parents could see. "Mom, Dad, this is Shokuhou Misaki-san. Shokuhou-san, this is my Mom and Dad." Mikoto watched Shokuhou put on one of her signature disgustingly sweet smiles.

"Hey!" She greeted, smiling widely. "I'm Shokuhou!"

 _"Hello! We're Mikoto-chan's parents!"_

"It's nice to meet you!" Shokuhou replied, really pouring it on. "I wish I could stay around and chat, but I really have something I have to do, so..."

 _"Of course, of course! Don't let us keep you!"_

"Bye!' Shokuhou said, backing up a bit. "See you later, Misaka-san."

"Bye." Mikoto replied. As soon as Shokuhou shut the door, Mikoto's mother sighed.

 _"She seems so nice."_ She said. _"Is she, Mikoto-chan?"_

"Yeah, I suppose." Mikoto replied. What was really on her mind, however, was what exactly what had Shokuhou so busy.

* * *

Misaki really didn't have the time to stop and talk to Misaka's parents, so she excused herself as fast as possible and left the dorms. As soon as she did, she pulled out her phone and texted Kongou, who would be the one assisting her with the rest of the days activities. Once Misaki had shared her intentions to have a surprise party, the girl was on board immediately.

Good thing too, because Misaki seriously doubted Saten and Uiharu's ability to keep the secret from Shirai, even if they were invited regardless. Shaking her head and focusing on her task, Misaki weaved in and out of bustling city streets towards her first target.

The Bakery.

Misaki knew a cake was a must, and for the past few days she'd been scouting out all the ones she knew of for the best possible one, also taking into account where Misaka often went. She'd finally decided on one just the other day, making her way there now. Once she got to the door, she inhaled deeply and pulled her remote out.

"I need you to make me the best possible cake." Misaki told the people behind the counter, manipulating away. "I don't care where it comes from, just get me the best one."

"Of course Ma'am!" The man said, smiling widely. "What flavor would you like?"

"Surprise me. Just make sure it's actually any good."

"With pleasure! Wow, I love making cake and not get paid for it."

"Yeah yeah, whatever gets it done." Misaki replied, taking a seat. She watched the six workers rushing around, forming what she hoped would not disappoint. She sighed and looked out the window, watching people mill past. Some cast weird looks at the blonde teenager lounging in the pastry store while workers worked as hard as their feeble bodies and minds let them. She really didn't care who saw her unless it was Shirai, of all people. That was the only reason Misaki was going to such lengths to get a party going. Just when she heard the oven behind her opening, Misaki looked out to find a certain spiky haired boy outside, walking by. Bolting to the door, Misaki leaned out and saw his retreating back.

"Kamijou-san!" She called, causing him to turn and spot her. "It's a good thing I happened across you! Come here."

"Uh, what's going on?" Kamijou asked.

"Long story short, it's Misaka-san's birthday today." Misaki saw his eyes widen a little bit at these words, meaning he didn't know. "And I'm going to incredible lengths to make sure she enjoys herself."

"Alright, sounds like fun." he said, smiling. "What do you need from me?"

"First of all, to come. Can you do that, or are you too busy?" He shook his head.

"I've got nothing to do." Misaki nodded in approval.

"Good. In that case, you can wait here for that cake to be ready. Don't worry, I brainwashed them all into doing it for free. Just pick it up when they're done with it."

"Okay, then what?"

"Stay here." Misaki instructed sternly. "Wait for me to come back. Not to sound rude Kamijou-san, but it would ruin everything if your misfortune made something happen to that cake. Then the whole surprise would be ruined." he laughed awkwardly.

"Fair enough." He replied. "Wait, did you say surprise? Is Misaka-san out of the dorms?" Misaki laughed.

"She should be any second now." She replied. "I got some convincing help to keep her out of the dorms for a little bit."

* * *

Mikoto didn't have a clue what Itagaki wanted to see her for, and it sort of worried her. Onoda had buzzed up and said he wanted to see her in the classroom, but she didn't have the faintest idea why. Stomaching her fear, Mikoto gulped and entered the classroom doorway, knocking quietly. Her teacher jumped a bit and turned.

"Ah, Misaka-san, you're here." He said. "Please, come in." Mikoto did as instructed and stood in front of his desk as he finished sorting through the papers on his desk.

"You needed to see me, Itagaki-sensei?" She asked, hands behind her back. He nodded, clasping his hands together as he stared at her.

"Yes, I did." Silence, then, "Is something the matter, Misaka-san?" Mikoto made a face at these words.

"C-Come again?" She asked weakly. Itagaki sighed.

"I asked you if anything was wrong." he replied.

"Why would you think that?" She asked. He sighed and shrugged.

"A lot of things, really." he replied. "You struggle to pay attention, you fall asleep in class, you always look exhausted...Are you okay?" Mikoto wasn't used to a teacher looking out for her like this, but she knew she was fine.

"Everything's fine, Itagaki-sensei." She replied with a small smile to convince him. "I know I'm not the greatest at paying attention, but I'm fine. I'm always falling asleep and exhausted because Shokuhou-san and I stay up too late sometimes."

"Are you sure? That's all?"

"Yeah, pretty sure." The two stared at each other for a moment before he spoke,

"You know you can trust me, Misaka-san." He told her. "If anything's the matter, don't hesitate to tell me just because I'm a teacher." Mikoto frowned.

"I know, but I'm fine." She insisted. He nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Is that all?"

"Yes, you may go now." he replied. Mikoto turned to leave the classroom and did so quickly, her mind racing to figure out what had just happened. She knew she wasn't the greatest student sometimes, but was it that bad that her teachers thought something was wrong?"

"Ah, Misaka-san! I'm glad I happened across you!" Mikoto jumped and looked up, see the Headmaster there.

"H-Headmaster-san?" She asked. "W-What is it?"

"I have a problem that could use your expertise."

* * *

"I don't know how long they can distract her for, so we'll have to be quick." Misaki concluded, already halfway out the door. "So get the cake and wait, got it?"

"Got it." he replied. Misaki knew that he wouldn't know that he was doing other than it was Misaka's birthday, but hopefully he had the sense to wait. Just in case, she quickly added more programming to the brainwashing that told the cashier to make him wait until she returned. Taking several minutes and taking her time so she didn't look overly eager for nothing, Misaki finally arrived at her destination.

The video game store.

Misaki had done her research on the flyer she'd found in her roommates drawer. The game was called Street Warriors, which had come out only the day before. She has also learned of the Ultimate Edition, which included ten bonus characters and over thirty character skins, and had apparently had sold out in hours all across Japan.

Not on her watch.

Entering the air conditioned store, Misaki brainwashed the line out of her way and went to the cashier, smiling.

"Hello," She said, aiming her remote at him and smiling as she activated the control. "I'd like a copy of Street Warriors Ultimate Edition. Do you have one in stock?"

"Of course, Ma'am!" he said enthusiastically. "Allow me to get it for you!" The man disappeared into the back of the store, and Misaki sighed in relief. She waited and watched other people mill around the store looking at other games, none of which interested her in the slightest.

"Shokuhou-san?" Misaki flinched and looked over at the door, finding Saten and Uiharu standing there. "What are you doing here?" Saten asked as they entered.

"Oh, uh, hey guys!" Misaki greeted. "I wasn't, uh, doing anyth..."

"Here's your copy Ma'me!" the man said, returning with what appeared to be the game and a console to play it on. "Have a nice day!"

"Holy...!" Saten said, rushing forward. "Is that Street Warriors Ultimate Edition?! How did you get one?!" Misaki raised her remote weakly and waved it at the others, who understood immediately. "Ah, you brainwashed them. Luckyyy!" Saten moaned.

"I didn't know you were into that kinda thing, Shokuhou-san." Uiharu spoke up.

"I'm not really." She replied. "It's for Misaka-san." Both sets of eyes widened, which made Misaki feel like she said something wrong. "W-What?"

"I totally forgot!" Saten shouted. "Argh! Now what?!"

"I don't know." Uiharu replied quietly.

"I got an idea." Misaki said, smiling. "There's a bakery down the street from here, do you two know Kamijou-san?" Both nodded. "Alright well, long story short due to complications in our shared past he can't remember me, and I left him there to wait for the cake. He may not remember what he's doing there, so can you two go retrieve him?"

"Is it a surprise party?" Uiharu asked, and Misaki nodded

"Can do!" Saten said. "Can we get some decorations too?"

"That'd be good, yeah." Misaki agreed. Both girls sprinted from the store, and Misaki laughed quietly. "This may turn out better than I expected...Beat this, Shirai."

 _Meanwhile..._

Popping her lips, Kuroko knew she'd finally completed the long process of making herself look absolutely perfect. She'd spent all day preparing herself for it, and she knew it was a flawless plan.

"Onee-sama..." Kuroko whispered, shivering at the thought of a successful plan. "You will be mine tonight...All mine..." Kuroko sauntered from her room, knowing she looked absolutely perfect.

She did not plan on returning alone.

 **So it seems both girls are up to something, eh? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	11. The Birthday Girl

**And we're back with the 2nd part of May 2nd. Enjoy!**

Kuroko didn't know where her Onee-sama was, and she'd texted her to try and find out. Getting no response more than a few times, she decided to head in the direction of the Nagatenjouki grounds to see if Misaka was there, Kuroko had to ignore the looks she was getting. She as perfectly aware she was overdressed for just walking down the street, but that wasn't her intention. She hadn't just dolled herself up to walk down the street and get looks from men she had no interest in.

She was dressed up for Misaka, obviously.

Tonight was the night Kuroko was done playing games, she was done dancing around it and waiting for her Onee-sama to make her move. She no longer intended on going to bed alone, or wondering if she was losing her beloved to that ape, or that blonde slut.

No more games, no more aloneness. Only her and her Onee-sama.

Kuroko did her best to prevent swooning in the middle of the street, which would only make more people stare at her, which she didn't want. Sighing and stopping for a moment, Kuroko observed he surroundings. She didn't know the exact way, but it was somewhere around here.

"I'm just saying Uiharu, we need to hurry!" Kuroko jerked at the sound of the familiar voices, and spotted the source. Saten, Uiharu, and the ape were standing a little ways away from her, talking in hushed tones. Just as Kuroko made her way to them, the ape disappeared into the store next to them, leaving the girls alone.

"Hey girls." Kuroko greeted, reaching them. Both looked up, and their eyes widened in surprise.

"Shirai-san...?" Saten asked weakly.

"Woah..." Uiharu agreed, making Kuroko giggle and strike a pose.

"What do you think?" She asked. "Am I irresistible?"

"You look incredible, Shirai-san!" Saten shouted. "What's got you so dressed up?"

"What do you think?" Kuroko replied. "Today is Onee-sama's birthday, and I intend to seal the deal."

"O-Oh?" Uiharu asked, casting Saten a worried look.

"Yep." Kuroko sighed in content. "I don't intend to go home lone tonight, I can say that much." Kuroko didn't see the girls sharing a glance, and she laughed. "Besides that, what are you guys doing here?"

"Uh..." Saten said weakly.

"N-Nothing" Uiharu replied. "Just, uh, hanging out." Kuroko watched the two girls avoiding her gaze, wondering what they could be so nervous about.

"Well anyways." Kuroko said, breaking the silence. "I have to go find Onee-sama, I refuse to wait any longer." Both girls nodded and Kuroko made her way past, not allowing her friends weird behavior to deter her.

* * *

Once Misaki had retrieved Misaka's gift, she made to leave the store but froze as soon as she saw Shirai. She watched the dolled up pigtailed girl stride through the streets, with much more pep in her step than Misaki liked to see.

"What the hell is she doing?" Misaki demanded to no one in particular, watching the girl walk through the streets. She also felt her lunch rise to her mouth in sickness. "And...What the hell is on he face?! She looks like a goddamn clown! Is that who she gets to do her makeup?! Ugh, what an idiot..." Deciding to ignore the disgusting makeup Shirai had plastered on her face, She watched the teleporter walk through the streets. Deciding to follow her, Misaki used her ability to her advantage, casually slipping in and out of conversations and groups, no one casting he a second glance for it. After a few blocks had been passed, Misaki saw Shirai's target quite clearly, which appeared to be the Nagatenjouki dorms.

Ah, of course." Misaki whispered as the middle school student. "I should have seen this coming, what other reason would there be for you to be wearing such ridiculous makeup? You appear to be going after Misaka-san." Pulling out her remote, Misaki stopped the teleporter dead in her tracks. She sauntered up to her and narrowed her eyes at her. "Tell me what you plan to do here." Misaki said.

"I intent to seduce Onee-sama and bring her home with me away from you. Shirai replied.

"Hm yes, that would make sense." Misaki said nodding. "Anything else?"

"If possible, I would also take the opportunity to destroy something of yours." Shirai said immediately. Misaki nodded in understanding. Now, she had a few options here. On one hand, she could turn Shirai around right now and make her leave with her ability as a temporary solution, or she could find a way to make sure she stayed away for good. Smiling to herself, Misaki ordered Shirai to stay put and entered the dorms main office, walking up to the counter. As usual, Onoda appeared there before long.

"Hello Shokuhou-san." She greeted with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I have to ask a favor." Misaki replied. Onoda sighed and began clicking away.

"I cant believe you forgot your code again..."

"Wha..! Not that! Listen, there's a girl out there who's going to ask where Misaka-san and I's dorm room is. Please do not give it to her, it could do nothing but cause problems for everyone, mainly poor Misaka-san." Onoda raised an eyebrow at her at this.

"Why? Who is this girl?" Misaki made a face.

"She's just a huge problem with teleportation. Look, even if you have to make up a rule that says middle school students aren't allowed in the high school dorms, do it. Anything that keeps her away from here."

"But, if she has teleportation, how do we keep her out?" Onoda asked.

"Simple." Misaki replied. She can't teleport places she can't visualize and calculate, so the only places she'd be able to teleport to are the grounds and this office, understand?"

"Yep, got it." Misaki smiled thankfully and left the office. Walking to the fountain, hiding behind it, erasing Shirai's memory of their interactions and freeing her, Misaki watched her walk into the office. Misaki giggled.

"Think you can com and play on my turf, Shirai?"

* * *

Kuroko walked up to the front desk and leaned against it, waiting for the mistress. Soon enough, the woman appeared from somewhere in the back.

"Can I help you?" She asked

"Why yes you can my good woman" Kuroko replied. "I require the room number and passcode to Onee-sama's room."

"Who?" Kuroko sighed. Seriously, how did these people not know Onee-sama by the title she deserved?

"I mean Misaka Mikoto-Onee-sama." Kuroko replied, feeling her already short temper on the subject shortening. The woman's eyes narrowed.

"Can I get your name?" She asked.

"Shirai Kuroko" The woman clacked away at the computer, although the look on her face did not lighten in the slightest.

"Sorry," the woman finally said, "But I can't help you."

"What? Why not?" Kuroko asked angrily.

"Several reasons." he mistress replied, "The first reason being middle school students such as yourselves are not allowed in the dorms. The second being that you re on the list."

"List?" Kuroko asked weakly. "What does that mean?"

"Due to our school housing several very famous students, such as Railgun and Mental Out, some are given the ability to list off people they don't want in their dorms. You were listed.

"By who?!"

"One Shokuhou Misaki." Kuroko growled angrily at these words.

"Well, Onee-sama didn't list me off, so..."

"But Shokuhou-san is Misaka-san's roommate." She pointed out. "Sorry, I cant give you the number or code to their room. Rules are rules."

Kuroko couldn't find words to describe how angry she was at that goddamn blonde. All she did was get in the way of Kuroko and her Onee-sama's happiness! This could not stand, this was insane. Kuroko stormed out of the dorm offices angrily grumbling to herself and cursing. She didn't know what she was going to do, but it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Ohhh, is that you Shirai-san?" Perfect. Kuroko looked over to find the blonde in question walking over to her, almost as if nothing was wrong. "What are you doing here?"

"..." Kuroko did her best to not say anything, and it was extremely difficult to not attack her.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? Or maybe something about today has you all sorts of pissed off?"

"I'm doing my absolute best to not kill you right now." Kuroko hissed, and Shokuhou grinned.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She replied earnestly. "I'm just on my way back from doing some homework."

"Oh? Did you just so happen to forget today was Onee-sama's birthday?"

"Oh? Her birthday?" Shokuhou gave Kuroko a once over, one that irritated her. "Given how you're dressed, it would appear you don't listen very well. I do believe Misaka-san said she didn't want anything big. And, low and behold, you're here looking like a cheap prostitute and looking for Misaka-san." Kuroko flexed her fists angrily as she tried her hardest to not start anything. As pathetic as Shokuhou probably was in a physical fight, Kuroko knew the moment she tried anything her mind would be putty in Mental Out's hands.

"...You know what? I'm not even going to say anything."

"Bye bye." Shokuhou said with an overenthusiastic wave as Kuroko stormed away.

 _That bitch...What the hell does she have up her sleeve?_

* * *

Misaki watched the teleporter drag her feet with a gleeful smirk on her face. That had been far to much fun.

"I probably shouldn't taunt her so much." Misaki sad to herself, walking back to where she'd left the console and the game. "She may just act on that murderous intent someday. Oh man, that'll be fun to see." Laughing to herself, Misaki picked up her purchase and began the walk to her dorm, seeing as, you know, she knew where it was. As the elevator came to a stop, Misaki stopped temporarily outside the door and ran her hand across the locking mechanism. Shed leaned a long time ago the mechanism got hot when Misaka hacked it instead of using the code, so in turn she used this to see if her roommate was home. Feeling the metal was very cold, Misaki smiled and entered, dropping the gift down on the coffee table. Misaki looked around the empty room and frowned.

"I know I said distract her guys, so just what are you doing to keep her away?"

* * *

Mikoto growled in frustration as the Headmasters computer crashed again. Rubbing her temples in frustration, Mikoto pushed the chair back and stood.

"I can't fix this." She told her headmaster. "The system is too slow, nothing it's supposed to do does anything...Ugh, it's useless." She began to leave, but her arm was grabbed.

"Please, give it one more go." he said desperately. Mikoto watched the downcast look on her Headmasters face and sighed

"You're lucky I pity you."

* * *

"Ah, whatever." Misaki said, shrugging. Just before she could sit down and relax, the door's intercom went off. Walking towards it, Misaki saw the three people she'd enrolled to help he waiting outside. Saten and Uiharu had bags, while Kamijou had the cake. Smiling as she whipped the door open, the others brightened up.

"How'd you guys find my dorm?" Misaki asked.

"Kamijou-san knew it." Uiharu replied, smiling over at the boy with them, who grinned sheepishly.

"I remembered it from that time I was here" he excused. Misaki grinned.

"Alright, alright. Hurry up and get in here!" ushering the three inside, Misaki set them to work setting up the decorations, wrapping the one present, and making sure Touma's misfortune didn't break anything. Misaki sighed as said setting up got pretty good.

"Alright, alright, I think we're in the clear." Misaki said.

"Shokuhou-san, is this okay?" Saten asked, looking up at the banner shed set up.

"Yeah it's fine." Misaki replied. "Now, I think we're pretty much done...!" Misaki had barely finished her sentence when the doorknob to the door begin to shake, followed by an electric shock that unlocked the door. "Shit! Get ready!" Everyone grouped together and put on the stupidest grins they could.

"She's going to love this" Saten whispered as the door began to open.

"Shokuhou-san, I'm ba...!"

"SURPRISE!"

* * *

To say all of that completely unnecessary work on computers for people had put Mikoto in a terrible mood was an understatement. She was beyond frustrated an just plain pissed was probably a better description. Sighing as the elevator came to a stop, Mikoto walked out and towards her door, grumbling angry about shitty software.

All that talk about being one of the best school...Tch, you may as well still be using Windows 98..." Pulling on the door before cursing to herself again because it was locked, Mikoto hacked the mechanism and opened the door, greeted by a rush of cool air. "Shokuhou-san, I'm ba...!"

"SURPRISE!" Mikoto jumped and almost had a panic attack at the shouting, cowering pathetically. Once she looked up, she spotted the reason she's almost died.

Shokuhou, Saten, Uiharu, and the idiot himself were standing by the couch, all smiling at her. There was a banner above their heads that read _Happy Birthday!,_ and all of them had idiotic grins on their faces.

"W-What...?" She asked weakly.

"It's your birthday, remember stupid?" Saten asked.

"W-What the hell is going on around here?" Mikoto asked. "What are you guys doing?"

It is your birthday, right Biribiri?" Touma asked, grinning.

"Y-Yeah."

"Well, it a party!"

"R-Really?" Mikoto observed their stupid grins again, but none of them faltered. "When did you...How did you...?"

"It was Shokuhou-san." Uiharu spoke up. This in turn caused Shokuhou to falter and pale. "She did everything!"

"I-I mean, not everything..." Shokuhou said weakly.

"Don't be so modest, Shokuhou-san!" Saten gushed. "You were going to do everything yourself before we found you." Shokuhou just stuttered incoherently.

"Is that true Shokuhou-san?" Mikoto asked. The blonde looked up and smiled.

"Well...yeah." She replied.

"But...I said I didn't want anything" Shokuhou snorted, a sound even she somehow made cute.

"Everyone says that too look modest, Misaka-san." She replied. "And besides, since when is it something huge for close friends to get together and celebrate someone's birthday?" Mikoto watched the weird look on the blonde's face before she broke into a small grin.

"Well, thanks!" She said, smiling. Shokuhou shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"Stop making me feel so bashful and open your present!" Shokuhou said, shoving the wrapped present in Mikoto's direction. Taking a deep breath and setting it down on the coffee table, Mikoto sat on the couch and began to unwrap it.

Her jaw dropped.

"Is this...?" She asked weakly.

"You bet it is!" Shokuhou replied. "Street Warriors the Ultimate Edition!" Mikoto opened and closed her mouth a few times in an attempt to say something, anything.

"How did you get this?!" Mikoto asked, staring at her roommate before it hit her "Never mind I got it." Shokuhou laughed.

"Well? You going to play some?" She asked. Mikoto grinned.

"I smell a tournament!"

* * *

"Yes! 3-0 for the Railgun!" Mikoto laughed in triumph as Saten growled in defeat.

"I give in, damn." Saten hissed. "You're a goddess at that game, it's like you've rained in it your whole life!"

"Ah, I'm not that good." Mikoto replied. "You want to go again, Touma?" Touma grunted a pretty firm negative.

"Are you kidding?" he demanded. "You decimate anyone who picks up a controller to contest you."

"I mean..." Mikoto started.

"How about you Shokuhou-san?" Uiharu asked. The blonde looked up.

"Eh? Me?" She asked. "I've never played before.

"Ah come on, give it a go!" Mikoto said, handing the blonde the controller. Shokuhou shrugged and shifted to sit more comfortably.

Alright, I'll try." She replied. Touma laughed as Saten handed him a slice of cake.

"This Is going to be good." He said as Saten sat down.

"I know right?" She asked, filling her mouth full of cake. Mikoto grinned as the two of them selected characters, skins, and a stage.

Two of the biggest combo's she'd even seen later, Mikoto had ben defeated.

She dropped the controller and stared at the victory screen in shock as Shokuhou made a surprised sound.

"Huh, I don't know what you guys were complaining about." She said flatly. "It wasn't that difficult."

"How the hell did you..." Touma stuttered.

"Black magic, must've been..." Saten muttered.

"That was incredible." Uiharu muttered. Shokuhou shrugged indifferently.

"Not that hard." She repeated. Mikoto finally got over her shock and sat up on the couch, shakily eating her cake.

"You okay Biribiri?" Touma asked, smiling at her.

"Yeah, I'm good." She replied, smiling at him. "Thanks again for doing this."

"Don't thank me, thank Shokuhou-san." he replied. "She set up everything." Mikoto cast a look over at the blonde using her phone near the door. "You know, she's really nice to you."

"Yeah..." Mikoto smiled. "I know. She's not too bad." Shokuhou turned around and laughed.

"Quick!" She shouted, landing on the couch between Mikoto and Touma. "Birthday group selfie!"

* * *

Kuroko wasn't doing anything special, and that in itself pissed her off.

"Stupid bitch..." he hissed. "Keeping me away from my Onee-sama..."

 _bzzz bzzz bzzz!_

Kuroko looked over at her phone as it buzzed on the table. Hoping that it was her Onee-sama, she picked it up and looked at it.

 _Stupid blonde bitch sent a picture_

Kuroko growled at the notification and tried to put her phone down. However, her curiosity got the better of her. When she opened her messages, the picture she saw made her eyes widen and her jaw drop.

The picture had half of Shokuhou's face, a smug smirk on her face and a gleam in her starry eyes. Behind her, Kuroko could see a half eaten cake sitting on the marble counter behind her. Just beyond that, her beloved Onee-sama... _Her Onee-sama..._ was sitting far to close for comfort to that ape, and they were talking and laughing. Just behind them, Saten and Uiharu were talking and laughing with them. Before long, Shokuhou typed in a message.

 _She missed you at the party ;)_

Kuroko growled at the message but, before she could respond, another one was sent.

The picture was all five of them curled up on the couch, smiling up at the camera Shokuhou was holding. Shokuhou and her Onee-sama were far to close for her liking, and Misaka to the ape. Just like the last one, a message came soon later.

 _I said hi to the birthday girl for ya :)_

Kuroko slowly placed her phone back down again, doing her best to prevent a exploding from rage.

"You want to play, Shokuhou? We can play."

 **I like this chapter a lot, personally. I hoe you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	12. Selfies

**Back again, sorry for the wait! I wasn't feeling good these past couple days, so I stayed away from keyboards.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Wow, that is difficult."

"Right?" Saten leaned back over the table with a chuckle.

"I'm really glad I don't have him as a teacher, the way you and Shokuhou-san talking about him makes him seem terrible." Mikoto laughed.

"I mean..." Mikoto thought over her sentence a little bit. "He's not that bad, just extremely strict."

"That's why he's bad." Saten replied. Mikoto rolled her eyes and played with her pencil, contemplating putting her homework away and just enjoying the rest of her day like a normal human being. But of course if she did that, Itagaki would be on her case, just like anyone else who didn't hand in their work on time. The only acceptable excuse to her teacher for late work would be if you died, and even then he'd still lower your grade. It was extremely stressful sometimes.

"Oh hey, you guys are here!" Mikoto looked up to find Uiharu and Kuroko walking up to them, Judgment armbands still on. "I would've figured you'd have left already, seeing as Shirai-san and I had to stay an hour later than we thought."

"Nah," Saten said. "Misaka-san still has to do her homework." Mikoto paled and laughed awkwardly as the others sat down.

"You should be used to this by now." She told them.

"I'm surprised your blonde lapdog isn't here." Mikoto looked up as Kuroko addressed her, making a face.

"What?"

"Where's Shokuhou?" Kuroko said, rewording her sentence.

"I don't know." Mikoto replied, shrugging. "Back at the dorms, out, hell if I know."

"Oh."

"Why?" Mikoto watched Kuroko shrug, but could tell she was miffed about something.

"I just figured you two were such good friends now." She said. "So I guess I just assumed you'd always be together." Mikoto watched the pigtailed girl sit down.

"What's your deal?" She finally asked.

"I don't know what you mean." Kuroko replied. Mikoto frowned.

"Shokuhou has been nothing but kind to you." Mikoto said. "Why are you being so rude?"

"Please do not tell me you are so blind, Onee-sama." Mikoto frowned as Kuroko said this, unsure of what she meant.

"What am I blind too?" She demanded.

"Back when you went to Tokiwadai, you and Shokuhou were practically enemies. You couldn't stand her and she you. And now that you're roommates you're automatically on great terms?" Kuroko shook her head. "There's something more to this." Mikoto knew that despite being so rude, Kuroko had a point. She and Shokuhou were being very friendly despite their past, and now even she was growing blind to it.

"You're right, it's true." Mikoto said, placing her pencil down. "Shokuhou-san and I didn't get along very well in Tokiwadai. It's different now."

"How so?" Kuroko demanded.

"We're stuck together, remember?" Kuroko rolled her eyes. "We already agreed to trying to get along, so that's what she's doing. I asked her to get along with you guys too, and she is. So, stop being so suspicious." Hearing Kuroko's angry muttering, Mikoto knew something else must have been bothering her. Although Kuroko was prone to jealousy, she never stayed this angry. "Did something else happen that's angering you?"

"Well, she did send me pictures of the party I wasn't invited too." The other three girls flinched and looked away from Kuroko, remembering now that she hadn't been there. "Thanks for inviting me, by the way."

"I-It wasn't really that kind of party..." Mikoto said. "It was just small."

"The ape was invited but not me?!" Mikoto made a face at this. "And how was it middle school students aren't allowed in the dorms but Saten-san and Uiharu got in?!"

"We just followed Kamijou-san." Saten replied.

"And you look mature enough to be a high school student, Saten-san" Uiharu added.

"Just what were the pictures she sent you?" She asked. Kuroko whipped out her phone and showed them to Mikoto and the others. The first one was clearing taunting, as Mikoto knew the smug grin that pulled on the ends of Shokuhou's mouth all too well. The next one however was one of the pictures Shokuhou had insisted on taking of the whole group. Mikoto frowned.

"It wasn't really all that great, Shirai-san." Saten tried as Mikoto searched for words to say. "The only reason we were there was because we found her while she was getting everything ready."

"Well, thank God for that." Kuroko replied. "Who knows what might have happened if the two of them were alone."

"I guarantee nothing as perverted as when we're alone." Mikoto shot, Kuroko paling and laughing awkwardly. "I didn't even know anything about it until they surprised me, I would've invited you if I knew."

"Wouldn't have mattered." Kuroko said. "Apparently there's a list of people who can't go in anyway, and Shokuhou listed me off."

"Hah?" Kuroko raised an eyebrow.

"There's a list of people who can't go in the dorms." She replied.

...

...

...

"Bwahahahahahahaha!" Mikoto burst out into laughter and slammed her fist down on the table, attempting to quell the laughter. After about thirty seconds, her sides hurting, and tears escaping her eyes, Mikoto was able to get a hold of herself. "Oh...Oh...That's a good one."

"What are you talking about?" Kuroko asked weakly.

"Who...Who told you that?" Mikoto asked, wiping her eyes on her arm.

"The Dorm mistress!" Mikoto snickered at this.

"And she told you Shokuhou didn't want you in the dorms?"

"Y-Yeah."

"And you believed her?!" This caused Mikoto to enter another fit of laughter, albeit much shorter due to her sides still hurting. "I knew you weren't good at taking a hint Kuroko, but that is too good!"

"There...There is no list?"

"No!"

"Gah!" the others watched as Kuroko grabbed her head and began to rant. "How dare that blonde set me up to look like an idiot! Urrah!"

"Calm down Kuroko!" Mikoto said. "I'll talk to her about it, see what she was intending on."

"As if she'd tell you anything!" Kuroko said, leaning over the table to get in Mikoto's face. "She's a she-devil, Onee-sama! You're dealing with a demon!" Mikoto rolled her eyes at Kuroko's usual overreacting.

"I don't think she's that bad."

* * *

Mikoto shook her head as she walked home, clearing her head of the laughter that was on it's way from thinking about the list. It was hilarious to think that Kuroko had fallen for such a simple trick, one that anyone could've thought up at a single moment to make someone go away.

"She's such a drama queen." She muttered under her breath as the elevator came to a stop on her floor. "I mean really, who falls for that?" Shaking her head with a chuckle, Mikoto hacked the mechanism on the door and entered, finding Shokuhou sitting on the couch upside down.

"Hey." She greeted.

"Hey," Mikoto replied, looking over at the TV. "What're you watching?"

"Some anime about high school students with powers." She replied. Mikoto chuckled.

"Sounds familiar."

"Right?" Mikoto threw her bag in the corner of the room and pushed Shokuhou's legs out of the way, sitting next to her. After the show finished and commercials started, Mikoto decided to bring up the list Shokuhou had lied up.

"So uh, quick question." Mikoto said, Shokuhou humming to say she was listening. "Why did you lie to Kuroko about a list saying she couldn't come in?" Shokuhou snorted and then chuckled.

"If you saw the way she had dolled herself up, you wouldn't want her here either." Shokuhou advised, causing Mikoto to shudder. "Believe me, I did you a favor by making sure she didn't get in here."

"How bad was it, exactly?" Mikoto paled. "Don't go too in depth."

"Well..." Shokuhou smirked. "You know clowns?"

"...Dear God..."

"You're welcome, she wasn't allowed in anyway. No middle school students."

"Then how did Saten-san and Uiharu-san get here?"

"From what they said, they followed Kamijou-san." Mikoto raised an eyebrow.

"How uh..." She scratched the back of her head. "How did he know how to get here? He's never followed me here."

"But he remembered you lived here." Shokuhou corrected. "Good enough."

"I suppose." Silence fell upon the pair as another show started. "You think maybe that was a bit harsh?"

"How so?"

"Well..." Mikoto trailed off, mauling her choice of words over. "As weird and rude as Kuroko can be sometimes, she's still a close friend. As much as I hate it, being close to me means a lot to her. I think not coming to the party hurt her."

"What did you want me to do?" Shokuhou demanded. "I see Shirai sauntering into the grounds looking like she came from a clown convention, asking for our dorm number and pass code, on your birthday. Please, enlighten me on what the right thing to do was."

"Um..." Mikoto thought over what Shokuhou had said for a moment. On one hand, she was right. It that moment, Mikoto couldn't see a lot of things Shokuhou could have done differently that would've resulted in an outcome just as enjoyable for everyone.

"Look at it this way, Misaka-san." Mikoto broke free of her stupor at these words. "Either I lie to just Shirai and we all had a good time, or I didn't lie to her and you spend the whole night fending off her sexual advances while the rest of us sit around uncomfortably trying to ignore it." Mikoto thought over both scenarios before she sighed.

"Yeah, you're right." She said, still feeling sort of bad. "You didn't have to send her those pictures, though. That was a bit much." Shokuhou laughed.

"I couldn't help myself." She replied. "I mean, it was a party I technically shouldn't have thrown for you on a day Shirai worships, and you were with Kamijou-san and I in the same room. I couldn't resist."

"It was still a bit much." Shokuhou shrugged, and Mikoto knew she wasn't getting anymore from her about that. After all, what was done was done, no changing that. Shokuhou yawned and stretched, Mikoto frowning as the blonde's legs entered her personal space.

"Get your legs out of here." She said, pushing the girls legs away.

"Don't you want to rub them?" Shokuhou asked with a smirk. "I'm sure Shirai would love to see that."

"Don't start throwing more fuel on the fire." Mikoto said with a smile. "The last thing I need in my life is Kuroko and you fighting over your non-existent relationship with me."

"Don't even try and convince me you don't get a kick out of watching her freak out." Shokuhou replied. "That girl is a goldmine of hilarity." Although Mikoto got irritated with Kuroko on the regular for her actions and not listening, she had to admit the freak outs were pretty funny sometimes. Unless it got them in trouble in public, that was pretty irritating. "Besides, I don't plan on keeping my phone out at all times to catch anything that'd piss her off."

"Just don't keep instigating." Mikoto warned. "I don't think you want her always following you and trying to get you angry."

"Yeah, you're right." Shokuhou said, hugging the couch pillow. "She's irritating."

"...You aren't going to stop, are you?" Mikoto asked after a pause, and Shokuhou smirked.

"Nope." Mikoto rolled her eyes and got up from the couch, grabbed her bag, and went to her room. "What're you doing?"

"The homework I'm sure you haven't done, I still need to finish it." she told her, "You need to copy it?"

"Yeah, hold up." Shokuhou sprang from the couch and followed Mikoto into her room. Once they were inside, Shokuhou threw herself on the bed and Mikoto pulled the work out of her bag, tossing it to Shokuhou.

"Damn, how did you figure this out?" She asked, scrunching her face up at the work.

"I didn't." Mikoto replied. "I guessed."

"Ah, makes sense." Shokuhou took the pencil and paper Mikoto offered her and began to copy the work down, sticking her tongue in her check as she did so. Mikoto waited patiently as she finished copying it, and Shokuhou gave her the work back, allowing her to continue. Mikoto had only just finished one equation when she heard a snap. Looking over, she found the source.

Shokuhou was taking selfies.

"What are you doing?" Mikoto asked, the representation of herself on the screen repeating the question.

"Taking selfies." She replied. As soon as another picture got snapped, Mikoto's eyes widened.

"Are you sending that to Kuroko?!"

"...No."

"Don't! Give me that!" Mikoto threw herself at Shokuhou and attempted to get the phone from her, but Shokuhou being taller then her finally came into play, holding the device just out of her reach. After another few seconds of struggling, Mikoto heard the sound of the camera snapping again. "Shokuhou-san!"

"What?"

"Don't! She's going to take it the wrong way!"

"That's the point!"

"Come on, this is childish!"

"You're the one who tackled me!" After a few more seconds of struggling, Shokuhou freed herself from Mikoto and sprinted from the room and into her own, slamming her door in Mikoto's face.

"Shokuhou-san!"

"Yes, dearest roommate?"

"If you send that to Kuroko, I'm throwing your candy over the railing." Silence met her from the threat, and Mikoto waited with her hands on her hips. "Well? What'll it be?"

"Can I send one?"

"No!"

"I'll send the one with you at your desk!"

"Shokuhou-san!"

"...Ugh, you're no fun." Mikoto heard Shokuhou coming towards the door, and then stopped. "But, if you throw my candy over the side of the railing, I'll send the one with us in your bed."

"...It seems we are at an impasse, then." Mikoto said after a moment. "How about...Alright, I want to see you send the one with me at my desk, and delete the other ones. I won't throw out your candy if I see you do that." After Mikoto said this, the door opened. Shokuhou stepped out and and showed Mikoto her phone, tapping send on the picture of her working at her desk. She then went to her album and deleted the other ones, only one of which being clear enough to make out what it was.

"There." She said. "Happy?"

"I suppose." Mikoto replied, putting a hand on her forehead and sighing. "I already warned you about her."

"You seem to have the idea I'm scared of her." Shokuhou sighed and whipped her hair over her shoulder. "And I assure you, I'm not."

"Do you really want to deal with her constantly being rude to you?" Mikoto asked. "Because I really hate it when she takes everything the wrong way."

"She'll get over it eventually." Shokuhou replied easily. "Besides, there isn't anything for her to get mad over."

* * *

Kuroko hated doing paperwork. By far the worse part of her job at Judgment was all the paperwork she got stuck doing at least once a week. The only upside was that she got to do it with Uiharu. Their teacher, Konori Mii, was also helping them out.

"Ugh, my hand is killing me." She complained, massaging the muscles in the center of her hand.

"It's not going to get you out of it, Shirai-san." Konori replied. "Just get through it."

"Uuuuuuhhhhh..." Kuroko slammed her head down on the table and continued to moan.

"What's got you so out of the loop lately?" Konori asked, patting her on the back. "Ever since the school year started you've been so out of it."

"Misaka-san moved out." Uiharu replied. Konori grinned smugly.

"Ah, so that's it." Konori said with a small chuckle. "Misaka-san left you."

"For the blonde." Kuroko hissed, growling. She really did detest that blonde. Kuroko hadn't had anything against her before, but now that she was living with her Onee-sama, it made her public enemy number one. Not only that, but she was a bit of a bitch too.

"Blonde?" Konori asked.

"Shokuhou Misaki-san." Uiharu filled in. "She's Misaka-san's new roommate, and Kuroko is jealous."

"She's a total demon!" Kuroko shouted. "She's out to get between me and Onee-sama!" Both girls shook their head in defeat. "I mean, you saw how she was acting Uiharu!"

"All I saw was Shokuhou-san trying to be nice and you being rude." Uiharu replied. "I found her quite pleasant."

"Great, now she's turning my friends against me. Are you under the control of Mental Out right now?!" Kuroko got right in Uiharu's face as she interrogated her.

"I'm not!"

"That's exactly what she'd have you say!"

"Shirai-san." Kuroko stopped as Konori grabbed her by the collar of her uniform. "Stop fooling around and get your work done."

"Ahaha...Right..." Kuroko backed up and went back to her own desk, continuing her work.

 _I know she's against me, I just have to prove it..._

 **I know nothing happened today, but I felt bad for not updating in a while. I promise something will happen in the next chapter. Also, I'm a little spent right now, so don't expect any updates on a regular schedule. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	13. Just a Little Nervous

**And I have returned! With this chapter, hopefully, we'll break 100 reviews! That's awesome! Oh, and before you guys ask in reviews, I did some research into the main topic of this chapter, but couldn't come up with anything other than one episode of Railgun for reference, so here it is:**

 **Mikoto's stage fright.**

 **Obviously referring to that time she had to do a violin performance and was really nervous. I did all the research I could.**

 **Enjoy!**

Mikoto's stomach refused to stop swirling anxiously, despite all the deep breathing she'd done this morning. Today, in fact at any moment, she and Shokuhou were going to be called down to the auditorium in advance for the assembly. Why, you may ask? The week before their Headmaster had graciously informed the girls he was forcing them to introduce the power developement part of the assembly, meaning she had to go out there on stage in front of all her classmates. After the mess of drama and fun of her birthday, it had slipped Mikoto's mind until the Headmaster called them down to tell them he was throwing it in with the rest of the assembly, meaning she didn't have to talk as long.

As if this did anything to quell her anxiety.

Mikoto was a Level 5. The best was not only expected of her, but also frowned upon should she be anything but. People had cut her slack in the past as being her friends, mentors, etc. But these were her classmates, the people she saw everyday during the week in the halls. They all respected her for her level, and to them she probably seemed near perfect. The only people who didn't see her that way were her actual classmates, in her class.

For all they knew Mikoto was just a girl who was really bad at not getting caught doing something she shouldn't have been, like anyone her age. Currently everyone was speaking in hushed whispers, before their next class started. All Mikoto could do was bounce her leg anxiously, waiting for the phone to ring that would signal her leave.

"Oi, Third-rate." Mikoto's thoughts were interrupted by Accelerator, who jabbed her in the back with a pen. "What's wrong with you?"

"Why do you care?" She snapped back without thinking.

"Tch, I don't." Mikoto sighed at the harsher tone that came from Number One. "All I care about is how annoying your fidgeting is."

"Sorry, I'm just stressed out. You know this assembly soon?"

"What about it?" Mikoto sighed and turned in her seat to face the albino, who still seemed indifferent.

"The Headmaster is making Shokuhou-san and I do the power development part of it." She told him, and he nodded in understanding.

"Oh, that." He said. "He asked me about that, but I turned him down."

"So I heard." She said. "Thanks for that, by the way. Now I'm stuck doing it." For once, an actual smile tugged at Accelerator's mouth. It was at her expense sure, but it was something. Just as soon as it came however, it was gone with the sound of the phone ringing and Mikoto jumping. Accelerator chuckled as Mikoto bit her lip, watching Itagaki answer the phone.

"I'll make sure to bring some nice flowers to the funeral, Third-rate."

"F-Funeral?"

"Oh yeah, the one that'll be organized after you die of a stress induced heart attack on stage." Accelerator's terrible sense of humor did not help whatsoever, and Mikoto watched as Itagaki turned back to the class.

"Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san, you're wanted at the auditorium." As Itagaki did not say front office, none of their classmates payed them any mind as they got up and exited the classroom, Mikoto feeling as if her feet had turned to lead. The two walked in silence, both knowing they didn't want to do this. It was on thing that they were being forced to do it, but neither particularly liked getting stared at, much less by a few hundred students who would mock the simplest slip up.

"Calm down, Misaka-san." Shokuhou said suddenly looking at her in irritation. "I can hear you having an anxiety attack from here."

"S-Sorry." Mikoto replied, not meeting her roommates gaze nor trying to calm down.

"This isn't that big of a deal, you know," Shokuhou continued. "All we have to do is walk out there, say some stuff about powers, maybe our own development, and leave. Simple."

"W-Whatever you say." She replied quietly. Once the two girls reached the auditorium, a woman wearing thin glasses walked up to them.

"You must be the Level 5's." She said in a snide tone. "I'm the arts director, Kamio. I'm in charge of making sure this assembly goes smoothly, understood?"

"Yep." Shokuhou answered

"Y-Yeah..." Mikoto muttered. The woman nodded and dug into her pocket, pulling out what appeared to be two earpieces.

"Use these to talk." She said. "So everyone can hear you." Mikoto took the small device and placed it around her ear, brushing her hair behind her ear as she did so. Once Kamio had given them that, she lead them on stage. Simply looking out into empty seats made Mikoto feel sick.

"Once the Headmaster introduces you two after the sports update, you'll have a time frame of ten minutes on stage. Most of this will be taken up by a video so not to worry, you'll only have to talk for as much as five minutes." A full five hundred seconds? Mikoto felt faint.

"Seems easy enough." Shokuhou said, a response that baffled Mikoto given how Number Five had been more anti-attention than she in Tokiwadai. "Anything else?"

"Don't mess up." Kamio said, tempting Mikoto to sarcastically reply. Once the arts director had taken her leave, Mikoto took a few deep breaths, which echoed around the auditorium due to the earpiece. Quickly switching the device off, she turned to find Shokuhou walking backstage. Having nothing better to do but follow, Mikoto wandered behind her roommate, who opened a door leisurely and peeked inside.

"What are you doing?" Mikoto asked as Shokuhou giggled.

"Nothing." Shokuhou said in her sing song voice, the one that automatically made her even more suspicious. Mikoto walked right behind Shokuhou and leaned up to look over the girls shoulder, looking through the door.

She squealed in surprise at seeing a senior boys PE class running laps.

"Shokuhou-san, you pervert!" She hissed, leaning back and putting her hands on her hips. "Stop being so creepy!"

"What's the problem?" Shokuhou asked, starry eyes full of mischief. "Who's bright idea was it to link the backstage with the gym anyway?"

"Probably for maintenance, now shut it!" Shokuhou instead went back to watching. "Shokuhou-san! I'm giving you to the count of three before I electrocute you."

"Hey, that guys even better looking than Kamijou-san." Mikoto raised an eyebrow at her roommate, who only grinned back.

"So?" Mikoto asked. "Touma's not exactly a 10/10."

"Fair enough." Shokuhou answered. "But look at those biceps!" Mikoto grabbed the door and pushed on it, squeezing Shokuhou's head between it and the wall. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow, okay!" The blonde finally freed he head and the door shut. "Jeez, you're a buzzkill."

"Just imagine what'd happen if you were caught." Mikoto replied with a smirk. "Mental Out gets caught spying on boys PE class, school thoroughly disgusted."

"Nice headline, you should be a reporter." Shokuhou said sarcastically. "They wouldn't have seen me anyway, no one was looking."

"Don't look back through there." Mikoto said. "The last thing we need is to get caught doing that."

"Oh don't be so scared." Shokuhou said. "Like they'd care if they caught us looking."

 _All Nagatenjouki first years, please report to the auditorium for the assembly."_ Hearing the announcement made Mikoto's stomach resume it's violent churning, which she did not appreciate.

"So, what are we going to talk about?" Shokuhou asked. "I think we should open up with talking about your development."

"Why me?" Mikoto asked quietly, knowing full well that meant she had to talk to the students.

"Because you were a Level 1, just like most others." Shokuhou replied. "They can relate to that."

"W-Whatever..." She said quietly as first years began filing in. "H-Hey, Shokuhou-san?"

"Yes?" Mental Out asked, looking over at her.

"How are you so calm about this?" She asked weakly. "Surely you've realized we have to go out there and talk to hundreds of people."

"Yeah, I know." She replied. "I'm just going to brainwash them to remove any chance of judging us." Surprisingly enough, this did not help the nauseous Mikoto. Knowing she wouldn't be getting judged for slipping up was nice, but it was the very thought of being in front of hundreds of eyes, all on her at the same time. She could say with the utmost of certainty, that she would rather have Kuroko cause a scene with her in public than do this. Not only that, but she had no way of telling if Shokuhou was actually going to brainwash them or not, or if she was bluffing to lull Mikoto into a false sense of security, which only made her more nervous.

 _"All second years, please report to the auditorium for the assembly."_

"Oh God..." Mikoto said as she peered out from backstage, seeing her classmates and others from her year sitting near the front. Her eyes met Accelerator's, who grinned smugly and gave her a small wave, which she returned. As the second years began to file in, Mikoto felt faint. The auditorium was filling up and the third years had not even been called yet.

 _Calm down, you're being pathetic._ She mentally scolded herself. _It's only for a couple of minutes, and Shokuhou is going to brainwash them so they won't judge us for a little slip up. You're sixteen Mikoto, grow up._

"Misaka-san?" Mikoto jumped at being addressed and turned to Shokuhou, who was standing behind her.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"The Headmaster said we'll be going up fourth, after sports."

"Y-Yeah, o-okay." Mikoto replied, cursing herself for stuttering. Shokuhou frowned.

"Are you seriously this nervous?" She asked. "It's not that big a deal, seriously."

"I know, it's just..." Mikoto trailed off, unsure of what she wanted to say.

 _"All third years, please report to the auditorium for the assembly."_ Mikoto stomach did another flip, signaling that she'd heard the announcement. She sighed.

"It's nothing, just give me a minute to calm down."

"Whatever you say..." Shokuhou said, wandering off to go and speak to the Headmaster for a moment. Mikoto leaned up against the wall, rubbing her forehead with her hand. Shokuhou was all kinds of right, this was no big deal. All she had to do was talk about power development, and she was well versed in the workings of such programs. Shokuhou had said she would brainwash everyone so they wouldn't judge, and most people respected her enough that they wouldn't dare call her out on a small slip up, would they?

Would they?

Mikoto's overactive brain started conjuring up thousands of scenarios of her getting mocked her stuttering, messing up her words, or the like. All of which did not seem more appealing than each other.

"Misaka-san, look! It's the seniors from the gym class!" Mikoto looked over as Shokuhou called her, seeing the PE class sitting way in the back. None of them seemed interested in being there, and Mikoto wished she could share that regard. Just as she was about to say something, the Headmaster pushed past them and onto the stage.

"Quiet down, quiet down. I'm sure you'd all rather be here than in class."

* * *

"And now, I'd like to welcome Coach Hirota on to the stage, to talk about our sports programs." It was around then Misaki noticed her roommates fidgeting was at an all time high. The girl could not sit still for the life of her, and it was starting to get on her nerves.

"Calm down." She scolded. "Seriously, worry anymore and you'll have a heart attack."

"Accelerator said that too..."

"Accelerator was right, you have to calm down. You may be worried about people judging you over some stuttering or messing up your words, but you'll never live it down if you pass out on stage." Misaka nodded as she bounced her leg, before she sighed and stood.

"I need to go to the bathroom." She said quietly.

"You went five minutes ago." Misaka ignored her and walked away from her, taking the back door out of the stage. Misaki rolled her eyes at this, knowing the girl was probably just going to throw up and get it out where no one could see her. That made the most sense after all. Misaki could understand Misaka's anxiety. Both being Level 5, everyone who didn't know them expected them to be perfect. She knew full well the majority viewed them as such, but they were far from it. If these people were to learn of Misaki's incredible sweet tooth, or Misaka's Gekota obsession, Misaki wasn't sure what'd happen.

That wasn't the problem though. Misaki knew that neither of these were even that big of a problem, but it had been drilled into her head at a young age she had to be perfect to the public. If anything detrimental about her got out, it wouldn't be good. This was one of the reasons she rarely did public events back in Tokiwadai, she hated the thought of always having to keep up a flawless facade for people she cared nothing about.

"And I think that about wraps up the sports, any questions?" Misaki's eyes widened at these words, whipping out her phone and looking at the clock. It had been ten minutes he'd been up there, and she hadn't even realized it. That and Misaka had yet to return. Misaki acted quickly, running to the curtain near the stage and aiming her remote out of it at the crowd, knocking everyone except Accelerator out, but he didn't even seem to notice.

"What are you doing, Shokuhou?" Coach Hirota demanded

"Stalling." She replied. "Misaka-san ran out and she hasn't come back, so I need you to do your sports bit again while I go find her."

"Why would I do that, that'd just confuse everyone."

"I'll erase the last ten minutes of their memory, just do it again." Hirota seemed a little irritated but nodded. Misaki went back behind the curtain and clicked a button on her remote, waking everyone up after the mind wipe.

"Well students, today I'd like to tell you about the sports programs here..." With the sound of the poor coach redoing his speech, Misaki opened the back door to the stage and ran out, looking for the Railgun.

* * *

Mikoto splashed more water on her face and stared at herself in the mirror.

"You're pathetic." She hissed, jabbing a finger at herself. "Of all the amazing things you've done in your life, you can't talk for two minutes? Disgusting." Frowning even deeper and turning the tap to shut the water off, she leaned against the sink and sighed. She really was pathetic, wasn't she? Public speaking of all things was her downfall. Not dying trying to protect someone, not giving up her own life for the greater good, not even a heart attack while telling the idiot how she truly felt.

Talking to people.

"Maybe if they just stopped looking at me..." Mikoto hissed, head swirling at he thought.

"I thought I'd find you here." Mikoto looked up to find Shokuhou leaning in the doorway to the bathroom.

"I said I'd be here." She replied. "Are we on yet?"

"I had to made the Coach do his whole thing again because you were gone to long." Mikoto sighed and hung her head.

"I can't go out there." She finally said. "I just can't."

"How is this any different from those violin recitals back at Tokiwadai?" Shokuhou asked, coming in closer.

"Because all I had to do back then was focus on the violin!" Mikoto shot back. "I didn't have to say anything!" turning back to the mirror and regarding herself coldly, Mikoto continued, "You don't know how hard and tiring it is to keep up a facade like you're a damn princess, Shokuhou-san. No one ever looked to you at Tokiwadai, always to me." Shokuhou appeared in the mirror, standing behind Mikoto.

"Maybe I don't know what that's like." Shokuhou agreed, giving Mikoto a soft smile in the mirror. "But I do know one of the strongest people I know is beating herself up over practically nothing."

"Don't patronize me."

"I'm not, I'm telling you the truth. You're freaking out like it'll be the end of you if you mess up or stutter, but it won't be. People will forgive and forget, like always."

"But..."

"No, no buts." Shokuhou grabbed Mikoto by the shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze. "Look up." Mikoto did so and met her own gaze in the mirror, Shokuhou's eyes over her shoulder. "You're the third strongest Level 5. You've looked certain death right in the face more than once and braved it. Most people twice your age aren't as strong willed and brave as you are. You've been through hell and back more than once, and you're afraid of a little public speaking?"

"..."

"Come on Misaka-san, you know you're better than this. We aren't perfect, and I know not everyone sees us like that." Shokuhou smiled again. "But you're more than capable of doing this, you just have to stop overthinking and stop worrying about it." Mikoto regarded herself in the mirror before she looked at Shokuhou's reflection, which showed the blonde smiling at her. After a moment, Mikoto chuckled and smiled.

"You sure have a way with words." She said, standing up straight. Strangely enough, her stomach had ceased it's ocean in a storm routine. "Come on, let's get this over with before I start second guessing myself." Shokuhou nodded with a smile, walking towards the door. Mikoto followed behind her, praying it went smoothly.

* * *

As the video ended, Mikoto smiled as she turned back to the crowd.

"So, as you can see, the power development here is really good!" Mikoto said with a smile. "I think that's about everything, right Shokuhou-san?"

"Just about." Shokuhou replied, smiling as well. "Remember, if you want to enroll in the power development program, see the front office about it! With that, we're going to hand it over to the student council!" Both girls played it cute and waved to the crowd, which got more than a rowdy reaction from the males of the audience. The very second Mikoto had greeted the student council and walked backstage, she nearly exploded with excitement.

"I did it!" She hissed with excitement.

"I know!" Shokuhou replied with a laugh. "Didn't even stutter or anything!"

"Thanks to you." Mikoto said, smiling brightly. "Thanks for what you said earlier."

"It was nothing." She excused.

"But you helped me get over my stage fright!" Mikoto said. "Really, thank you."

"It's nothing, it's what friends do." Shokuhou replied absentmindedly.

 _It's what friends do._

This sentence alone made Mikoto realize who she was talking to, who had just said that. Had she been asked as early as three months ago what she thought of Shokuhou, she probably wouldn't have been that kind.

But now, after being stuck with her for a month of their twelve month sentence, Mikoto had to admit she thought highly of Number Five. Despite how endearing, childish, and sometimes flat out rude she could be, Mikoto now realized she considered Shokuhou a friend. And from what she had just heard, the same went for the blonde.

For one reason or another, this made her happy.

"And the student council would like to say that as of the end of this month, we will be holding the first school dance!"

And just like that, Mikoto's adrenaline high crashed so hard into the earth it came out the other side.

 **If you look at this chapter as the girls doing a presentation, it sort of sucks.**

 **But if you look at it as them becoming closer as friends like I did, I think it's pretty good.**

 **And a dance? This can only go so many different types of horribly for our poor girls, huh? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	14. The Stupid Dance

**I'm back, did you miss me? enjoy!**

As soon as her alarm clock activated, Mikoto flung her sheets off of her and slammed her hand down on top of it, looking around frantically. After a moment, she heard no movement coming from other rooms, so she slowly got up and found her uniform. Slowly putting it on, she looked at herself in the mirror, glad that her shower she took the night before hadn't made her hair stick up too terribly. Grabbing her brush and taming what little bit was out of accordance with her style, she slowly placed the brush back down and walked over to her door, twisting the knob silently. As soon as the door was open she tip toed down the hallway towards the living area, where she could see Shokuhou already eating a donut in the kitchen, who greeted her with a wave. Mikoto raised a finger and pressed it to her lips, signaling Shokuhou to be quiet. The blonde nodded and threw her a donut for herself, which she caught.

You see, the reason they were trying to be so quiet was because they were up an hour early.

It had been about a week since the school dance had been announced, and Mikoto had been mercilessly hounded by every guy she knew and hell, even ones she didn't, to go with them. It was tiring constantly turning down the opposite sex asking for a date, but she should've expected it. After all, what guy wouldn't want to go with a Level 5 to the dance? Shokuhou got it just as bad, so the two had to improvise ways to survive.

One, they woke up earlier then normal to get to the classroom first and avoid the looks in the halls. Two, they usually hung out with each other and other girls as much as possible because as Mikoto had been told by her classmates, boys had a harder time approaching her when she was in a group. This proved to be incredibly true, as she was approached less in groups. And finally, she always kept the rejection as swift and kind as possible. Just because she was tired of the attention didn't mean she wanted to be rude. As Mikoto gathered her things and headed for the door, she grabbed the handle and turned to Shokuhou.

"Ready?" She whispered. Shokuhou nodded, and Mikoto turned the handle on the door and opened it, revealing the still darkened outside. Class didn't start for a while, but it was all in accordance to survival until May was over. Quickly making their way to the elevator and going down, Shokuhou sighed.

"What's the plan for today?" She asked.

"Well," Mikoto said. "During lunch we'll be sitting with Kongou-san and a few others, to avoid anyone coming after us. After that, I'm going to go hang out with Saten-san, Uiharu-san and Kuroko after school. Want to come?"

"I don't want to be alone, so yeah." Shokuhou stretched as the elevator came to a stop and the two swiftly walked out, walking quickly towards the main building. Next to no one was up at this hour, save a few students and teachers. Once the two reached the main building, they took the stairs up to the second floor and made it to their classroom without any problems. The door was open which saved them having to wait for Itagaki to open the door. Heading to their seats, Mikoto sighed and sat down, putting her head down on the desk. Despite the fact that she had been waking up earlier for several days, it still hadn't gotten easier. She closed her eyes and attempted to get some rest. Listening to the air conditioning started to lull Mikoto to sleep, before the door opened again.

"Morning girls." Itagaki said.

"Morning Itagaki-sensei." Mikoto said, raising her head to acknowledge their teacher. Despite how stern and unforgiving Itagaki could be, he had shown Mikoto and Shokuhou some mercy, doing so by leaving the classroom door unlocked for one and saying he'd drag them out of an uncomfortable situation if he could. Even if he was a strict man, he did care a little bit.

"Still having boy problems?" he asked with a smirk.

"I'm here early aren't I?" Mikoto asked weakly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"True, usually you get here thirty seconds before the bell." Mikoto ignored the jab at her time management skills and looked out the window, watching other students run or walk to their classes. Seeing all the guys down in the courtyard made Mikoto glad she and Shokuhou had gotten up early. As students poured in, Mikoto cast friendly glances at people who noticed her. As she yawned, she heard the familiar tap of a cane on the floor.

"Third-rate." Accelerator greeted.

"Accel." Mikoto replied. Accelerator sat down and chuckled.

"Still having boy problems?" he asked. She turned to look at him.

"Look at these bags under my eyes and ask me." She said. Accelerator rolled his eyes.

"Just start knocking heads." He suggested. "That'll make them stop."

"Yeah, and get myself expelled for electrocuting students." Mikoto said. "I'll get right on that."

"Can't wait." Accelerator quipped. Mikoto sighed in exasperation but, in all honesty, she was happy there was a guy she could talk to without getting asked out to the dance. even if that guy was Accelerator and the conversations usually ended up in mocking her, they could still have them. And that, no matter how much mocking was a result of it, soothed her slightly.

"What about you?" She asked, knowing she already knew his answer. "Are you going to the dance."

"Tch, seriously?" He asked, red eyes full of disdain at the thought of a dance. "Like hell I'm going. What reason would I have to go to that?"

"To get people drunk?" Mikoto asked, regretting saying that immediately. Accelerator smirked.

"Hm, maybe I should." he said with a grin. "I'm sure you're a riot when you're wasted, third-rate."

"Who knows." Mikoto asked. "Judging from what you usually end up doing, we may find out." Accelerator just smirked at her, so she turned around and put her head back down until the bell rang, making her sit up and pretend to pay attention.

"So," Itagaki said with a smirk. "Anyone want to ask Misaka-san or Shokuhou-san anything before we begin?"

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Ugh, today was the worst." Shokuhou complained as she slid down in the booth's seat. Mikoto nodded and leaned back. The two were waiting in Joseph's for Kuroko and the others, and after the past few days had been going, the two were sliding down in their seats to avoid anyone seeing them.

"I know." Mikoto agreed. "Hopefully we find a way to get out of this."

"Fair enough."

"What's wrong with you two?" Both looked up as the trio of middle school third years reached them. "You look terrible." Saten continued.

"It's been a long week." Mikoto replied quietly.

"What's been happening?" Uiharu asked.

"There's dance being held at the end of the month." Shokuhou replied. "We've both been chased by guys since..."

"What?!" Kuroko demanded, slamming both her hands down on the table. "Apes?!"

"Kuroko..." Mikoto began.

"Damn disgusting men!" Kuroko spat. "How dare they chase after Onee-sama's virginity!"

"They chase me too..." Shokuhou said weakly.

"My virginity?!" Mikoto cried. "What are you talking about?!"

"Ugh, this is why I hate them!" Kuroko seethed. "All they do is get in the way and try and defile Onee-sama's purity!"

"Kuroko...You better sit down and shut up before I electrocute you." Mikoto warned, sparks crackling around her forehead. "I am not in the mood for you after what's been happening this week."

"S-Sorry for shouting, Onee-sama." Kuroko apologized quietly.

"So I guess you guys have had a hard time with boys, then?" Uiharu asked as Kuroko fumed in silence.

"More than you could ever understand." Shokuhou replied. "I'm just glad some guys are taken. Otherwise we'd have the whole school on top of us."

"Well, I have an idea." Saten said, grinning. Although Mikoto knew that smile usually led to trouble, she was intrigued.

"You could ask Kamijou-san."

"Absolutely not!" This was around when Kuroko came back into the conversation. "I will not allow it! The last thing we need is the ape taking Onee-sama to the dance!"

"What if he takes me?" Shokuhou asked, raising her hand.

"I feel bad for you, then. Which is saying something." Kuroko replied with a frown.

"Would you rather Misaka-san ask a guy you know nothing about and wouldn't know at all?" Saten countered. "At least you know that Kamijou-san is somewhat respectable. What if she goes with someone else and he ends up being a pervert or something?" Once a look of deep thought crossed Kuroko's face, she groaned.

"Don't make me make a decision like that, Saten-san." She groaned.

"Well," Shokuhou said, nudging Mikoto. "What do you think?" Mikoto made a face, trying not to get nervous at the prospect of asking the idiot of all people to the dance.

"Well...I-I suppose it couldn't hurt."

* * *

"No."

"What?!" Both girls watched Touma sigh and stand from his bed, walking past them and into the kitchen.

"I said no." He said again, watching the two of them.

"M-Maybe you didn't hear it, Kamijou-san," Shokuhou said weakly. "But we _really_ needyour help."

"No, I understand that perfectly well." Touma replied. "But I don't want to."

"Why not?" Mikoto asked.

"Well, maybe because I'll be hunted like an animal for taking both of you to the dance?" he asked, making both girls laugh awkwardly. Not only due to the Touma Clause was neither allowed to be alone with him, but they both agreed that him taking them both would be better, as there was no fair way to decide who went with him without the other feeling shafted.

"W-Well, just say you're only with one of us." Shokuhou tried. "The other is just hanging around."

"Or maybe that every guy there would be after me for being the one taking you two?"

"I mean..." Mikoto said weakly.

"Or that I have the shittiest luck on earth, so something terrible will happen? Practically guaranteed?" Both girls remained silent as Touma watched them, but neither of them could come up with anything. "Oh, not to mention what'll happen if Shirai finds out?"

"Please?" Mikoto asked.

"I'm sorry Biribiri, but I just don't want too." He did look a little sorry but, at this point, Mikoto knew she looked that way too. "I'm sure you guys will think of something but, no thanks." With that, both girls left his apartment and walked in a robotic way down and into the city. Once the two of them reached a bench, they sat down. That was when Shokuhou lost her head.

"What are we going to do?!" She demanded. "He was our last hope!"

"I suppose it can't be helped." Mikoto replied. "Maybe we just won't go to the dance."

"Are you crazy, Misaka-san?" Mikoto looked over at the blonde, receiving a crazy look. "Do you know what would happen if we did that?"

"Do I care...?" She asked. Shokuhou looked bewildered.

"Seriously?" She asked. "First of all, our social standing will plummet." Shokuhou made a big point of raising her hand above her head and whistling as she lowered it, eventually making an explosion sound with her mouth as she pretended to make one. "A lot like that. Second of all, people will think we're above them."

"How?"

"Because they'll think 'oh, those two level 5's didn't go to the dance with the rest of us. What are they, too good for us?' That's the last thing we need people thinking."

"I mean..."

"Besides, what else would we do?" Although the final point was weak, she did have a point. "What if someone shows up to try and take us while the dance is going on? Too many variables Misaka-san."

"well, what do you propose then?" Mikoto demanded. Shokuhou placed a finger on her chin as she thought.

"I didn't want it to come to this." She said, crossing her arms and frowning. "But it looks like I have no choice."

"What is it?"

"I hope Kamijou-san is okay with this..." Shokuhou mumbled. "Because I'm about to pull out man's worst enemy."

"...?"

"The Tsundere."

* * *

"Oh for God's sake Misaka-san, just do it!"

"No!" The pair was arguing quietly in front of Touma's door. Shokuhou wanted Mikoto to ask Touma like it was only for her, which would trick him into going with both of them. Problem was, Mikoto had to act like the one word she loathed more than anything: A tsundere. "You can't make me!"

"Come on, it's for a good cause!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Misaka-san, if you do not do this, I'll tell Shirai I caught you naked with him." Mikoto's eyes widened.

"You wouldn't dare." She whispered.

"I can and will." Shokuhou said. "I can be very convincing, if you know what I mean. Make up your mind." Mikoto stared at her roommate to gauge how serious she was, before she sighed in defeat. "it won't even be that hard, seeing as you actually are a tsun..."

"Don't you _dare_ say that word." Mikoto growled, and Shokuhou laughed awkwardly.

"Sorry. Come on, you can do this!" Mikoto frowned before she shook her head angrily and looked at Shokuhou, determined.

"I'll do it, but you owe me. _Big time_ " Shokuhou nodded.

"Right right, I'll get you a Gekota phone strap or something. Now, redden up those cheeks and get angrily cute, it's show time!" Mikoto prepped herself as Shokuhou ran to hide behind a corner. What was she going to say? just ask him out of the blue? Before she knew what to do, her hand had knocked on the door.

"Hold on!" His voice sounded from inside, making her stomach turn. At least she didn't have to worry about blushing while she was doing this, she was already red. Hearing him approach, she held her hands behind her back, stomach churning.

 _Show time._

"Biribiri?" Touma asked as he answered the door. "Did you forget your phone or something?"

"No you idiot, I..." _be annoyingly cute, Mikoto, don't yell at him!_ "I-I just needed to ask you something..."

"Alright, shoot." He said. Mikoto struggled to look up and meet his gaze, but it was all the more convincing when she did.

"I-I w-wanted to know if...If...If..."

"If...?" Touma asked.

"If you'd...go to the dance...w-with me..." Mikoto managed, feeling her heart skip a beat as the words left her mouth.

"Huh? Is this another plot by Shokuhou-san? I already said no..."

"No!" Mikoto shouted, interrupting him. "I...I'm only asking...for me..." the silence that followed even such a simple lie made Mikoto want to die. She didn't have the heart to look up, that was for sure.

"Biribiri..."

"D-Don't get the wrong idea!" Mikoto said, laughing as she looked away. "I'm not doing this for any reason other than I need a date, or I'll be hounded all night while I'm there. So...I need you..." Mikoto realized she'd forgotten to add on 'you're help', and just left it as you. All the more convincing, hopefully.

"I mean, I'm honored and everything Misaka, but..." Touma made a conflicted sound, and Mikoto watched him from the corner of her eye. "If it really means that much to you..."

"I-I-I'm only a-asking because I want to enjoy myself and be left alone!" Mikoto said swiftly. "Don't take this as anything but!" _P_ _lease don't take this as anything but! Damn you Shokuhou-san, you knew this'd happen..._

"I..." Touma began, Mikoto listening attentively. "I, uh..."

"You'll...?" Mikoto asked, batting her eyelashes as best she could. Hell, she'd already embarrassed herself, might as well pour it on.

"I'll... think about it."

...

...

...

"Eh?" Mikoto asked. Touma sighed and rubbed the back of his head, trying not to blush.

"I said I'll think about it, I was going to make plans." He opened his eyes and watched her carefully. "Anything else?" Mikoto was too stunned that her performance had only wielded a maybe.

"I...no." After a swift farewell the door shut. Mikoto stood there for a moment, still too stunned to react. Finally, she walked slowly to the stairs, stopping when she saw Shokuhou sitting there in defeat.

"He'll think...about it...?"

* * *

"I'll think about it? I'll think about it?! Are you kidding me?!" Mikoto ignored Shokuhou's ranting as she sipped her coffee, Shokuhou pacing back and forth in front of her. "I can't believe that pathetic excuse for a man gave you a maybe!"

"Hm." Mikoto hummed.

"I mean I have to give it to you Misaka-san, that was a great performance but...I'll think about it?! We needed a yes! He ruined everything!" Shokuhou sat down in defeat, Mikoto still sipping her coffee. "Ugh, this puts a whole damper on our near non-existent plan..."

"Agreed." Mikoto said. "You made me humiliate myself for nothing. Some of that wasn't acting, you know."

"I could tell." Shokuhou mumbled. The two sat in silence for a bit as the wind blew around them. Despite their situation, the weather was nice. Mikoto wondered about what she had done in her life that had lead her to such a situation. Some much needed life evaluation was in order.

"You know," She said offhandedly. "If one us us was a guy, that'd solve everything."

"Tch, as if I'd be caught dead with..." Shokuhou paused, and Mikoto looked over to find a calculating look in the blonde's eyes.

"Shokuhou-san?" Mikoto asked.

"...That's it, Misaka-san. The answer to our problem."

"Eh...?" Shokuhou sprang up from the park bench and stood in front of Mikoto, brandishing a finger right in her face.

"We'll turn you into a man!"

 **Ah? Ah? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	15. Stage One: Clothes

**You guys came in with the support! Keep it up!**

 **Enjoy!**

 _Kuroko couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had followed Onee-sama and Shokuhou after they had left Joseph's, just to see what they were doing. Now, she was watching the pair at the ape's door, Shokuhou's pressuring Onee-sama._

 _"Oh for God's sake Misaka-san, just do it!" She heard Shokuhou hiss._

 _"No! You can't make me!" her Onee-sama shouted. What're they talking about? Why is Onee-sama so red?_

 _"Come on, it's for a good cause!"_

 _"Absolutely not!" Kuroko watched as Shokuhou leaned in and whispered something to Onee-sama, and the girls eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare." She whispered._

 _"I can and will. I can be very convincing, if you know what I mean." Silence followed this sentence, and Shokuhou frowned. "it won't even be that hard, seeing as you are a tsun..."_

 _"Don't you are say that word." Onee-sama growled. After another heated whisper argument, Onee-sama shook her head violently. "I'll do it." Kuroko leaned in in an attempt to hear the whispers that followed, but Shokuhou ran off and hide behind a corner before she picked up on anything important. She watched her Onee-sama lean back and forth on her feet as the door was answered by the ape, who appeared confused. Kuroko couldn't take this, she needed to hear what was happening. She teleported closer, and leaned closer._

 _"If you'd...go to the dance...w-with me..." Onee-sama whispered, and Kuroko's eyes widened._

 _"Huh?" the ape asked. "Is this another plot by Shokuhou-san? I already said no..."_

 _"No!" Her Onee-sama shouted, face as red as Kuroko had ever seen it. "I...I'm only asking...for me..." Kuroko felt sick at these words as the ape watched her curiously._

 _"Biribiri..." he said slowly, making Kuroko feel even sicker._

 _"D-Don't get the wrong idea!" She excused quickly. "I'm not doing this for any reason other than I need a date, or I'll be hounded all night while I'm there. So...I need you..." Kuroko didn't know what to do. She knew her Onee-sama enough to know that she was only saying 'don't get the wrong idea', to make herself feel better. She had never seen Onee-sama so red, so bashful. She couldn't believe this, she was only asking for her! Shokuhou had ran away and hide, presumably to watch like she was, so that she went through with it. This was unacceptable, this could not...!_

 _"I'll think about it." Kuroko snapped back to reality at these words, looking down at the pair. Her Onee-sama seemed shocked, but the ape looked a little embarrassed._

 _He'll think about it? What, is Onee-sama not good enough for him?! NO! No, bad Shirai! Don't think that, she's too good for him! He's not even close enough to be worthy of her._

 _Kuroko watched as they said goodbye, but she had seen all she needed to see. The ape could not be allowed to see Onee-sama._

* * *

"...Eh?" Mikoto asked weakly. "What?"

"It's simple." Shokuhou replied with a grin. "We'll turn you into a guy!"

"..."

"...Misaka-san?" Shokuhou asked.

"You want to do WHAT?!" Mikoto shouted, jumping to her feet and startling Shokuhou. "No! I'm not going to cross dress for this! No chance in hell!"

"Oh come on, you could totally..."

"No! I'm not going to do it! I'd rather go and confess to Touma right now!"

"Would you?"

"...Okay well, there are a lot of things I'd rather do!" Mikoto corrected. "But no, no chance. Nope."

"Oh come on, we could totally dress you up like a convincing guy!"

"Why don't you do it?" Mikoto demanded, crossing her arms. Shokuhou rolled her eyes.

"Really, Misaka-san?" She demanded. "Do I need to answer that?"

"Well..."

"First off," Shokuhou interrupted, "The only reason I'd be better is because I'm slightly taller. Only slightly. Other than that, my hair is longer, my chest is bigger, my curves are more noticeable, and I'm no tomboy." Shokuhou watched Mikoto with a dead serious look on her face. "See? I can't be the guy here."

"So you're saying I have the figure of a guy?" Mikoto demanded. "Thanks a lot, Shokuhou-san."

"I didn't mean...I meant that between the two of us, you cannot look at yourself, then me, and try to convince yourself your body is as developed as mine." Shokuhou quipped. "By no means is your figure manly but, come on Misaka-san, be reasonable."

"I _am_ being reasonable." Mikoto replied. "And I'm not cross dressing for this! I don't care what happens if we don't go to that dance, but I'm not doing it!"

"Why not?" Shokuhou asked as Mikoto turned away. "You could totally pull it off!"

"What if someone finds out I'm cross dressing?" Mikoto asked. "You claim the social backlash from not going would be bad, but what if I'm caught acting like a guy?"

"There's this amazing thing I can do called Mental Out." Shokuhou replied, tapping her forehead, which made Mikoto groan. "Anyone finds out, I'll erase the memory."

"Just Mental Out them into thinking I look like a guy, then!" Mikoto said. "Simple, right?"

"Uh, no." Shokuhou replied. "The music will be quite loud. For such a long illusion to hold and across so many people, it'd be too difficult. I could assist with it a little, but nothing as huge as that. I'd need to be able to concentrate."

"Ugh, well, can't we just go and ask Touma again?" Mikoto tried. "I'm sure if we begged enough he'd do it, he's a nice guy."

"As nice as Kamijou-san is, a maybe isn't good enough." Shokuhou said immediately. "We need a plan is case his dumbass says no after all."

"But...But...But..." Mikoto tried, looking for a reason to slip out of this. Shokuhou grinned.

"If you do this," the blonde said, eyes shining mischievously. "I'll write up your English paper." Mikoto eyed her roommate carefully after this suggestion. Their class did have a six page essay due a little bit after the dance, and Mikoto was not keen on writing it. Neither was her roommate, but this was a golden opportunity to not do it. But to dress up as a guy for it? Mikoto weighed her options mentally as Shokuhou watched with a hopeful gaze. She really didn't want to do this but, coupled with Shokuhou's persistence, what choice did she have?

"I really don't have a choice, do I?" Mikoto finally asked, and Shokuhou grinned, grabbing her wrist.

"Nope, you really don't." She agreed. "To Seventh Mist!"

* * *

"What about this?" Mikoto looked at the shirt Shokuhou had suggested and made a face.

"No." She said. Shokuhou sighed as she lowered the suggestion a bit.

"Misaka-san, you have to pick something." the blonde said. "This is a key part of the disguise."

"Yeah but you're picking a bunch of tight shirts."

"And?" Mikoto made a face and gestured downwards, Shokuhou following the gesture before she laughed.

"Oh right, my bad." She said. "Your chest."

"Duh." Mikoto said, rolling her eyes. Shokuhou placed her suggestion back and turned to Mikoto.

"What size are you?" Shokuhou demanded.

"Huh?" Shokuhou rolled her eyes at the question. Before Mikoto could ask again, Shokuhou reached forward and groped her, causing her to shriek a little and smack her hands away. "What the hell, Shokuhou-san?!"

"I'll be back." The blonde said. "Stay here and browse." Mikoto watched the perpetrator to her groping wander off, leaving her alone in the mens section. Shokuhou had already brainwashed everyone in the vicinity to ignore the two girls browsing men's clothing, so Mikoto looked around at the shirts. Nothing really struck her fancy, although maybe that was because she was a girl, not a man. This whole thing was ridiculous, and Mikoto couldn't believe she was getting roped into it on the premise her roommate would write her essay.

"Wow, I'm easy to please..." Mikoto muttered under her breath. It was another ten minutes until Shokuhou returned, holding a bag in her hand. "What did you get?" Mikoto asked, the bag getting tossed to her. Looking inside, her eyes widened. "A sports bra?!"

"Duh." Shokuhou replied. "We need a way to hide your chest right? This will help."

"I-I mean..." Mikoto muttered. Shokuhou did have a point, this would help. Didn't change the fact it was embarrassing. "Now what?"

"Get in that change room and model for me." Shokuhou replied with a smirk. "I'll see what looks good on you." Getting shoved into a changing room before she could argue, Mikoto sighed as a avalanche of shirts, pants, ties, and various other clothes were thrown over the door into her. Seeing as the dance was semi-formal, all of the shirts were collared with buttons, just a million and a half different color options. Changing into the sports bra and randomly selecting a tan shirt, Mikoto threw it over herself and looked in the mirror. She didn't look the least bit manly, just flat chested.

"There's no way this is going to work." Mikoto called.

"I'll be the judge of that." Shokuhou replied. "Let me see." Mikoto opened the door and stood there as Shokuhou observed. "Well for God's sake, model it for me." Rolling her eyes, Mikoto did a little spin. "Hm, not your color, try again." Walking back in the change room, Mikoto discarded the shirt and picked up another one.

"So what's my story?" Mikoto asked. "I mean, surely people will ask why you're at the dance and I'm not."

"I'll just say you are there." Shokuhou replied absentmindedly. "I am your roommate, no one would doubt me."

"I suppose..." Mikoto muttered, walking out and doing another spin, getting another negative. "But, if they can't find me there..."

"There'll be several hundred people, Misaka-san." Shokuhou replied. "It isn't unlikely no one would see you anyway. Plus, like I said, I'm your roommate. If they doubt me, they're just really creepy."

"I suppose." Mikoto said. Mikoto turned and looked at herself in the mirror, rocking a long sleeved white shirt. "Hey, I really think this one could..."

"Oh hey Shokuhou-san!" Mikoto's eyes widened at the voice, one that belonged to a friend of hers. Mikoto heard Shokuhou gulp as she turned, presumably to talk to who had addressed her. Mikoto pressed herself against the wall, waiting with baited breath.

"H-Hey Saten-san! Uiharu-san! Shirai! what's up?"

"Oh, just doing a little shopping." Uiharu said. "What about you? Why are you in the men's section?"

"Uh..."

"Could it be you wear apes clothing, Shokuhou?" Kuroko asked, although the tone in her voice wasn't the least bit snarky. In fact, she sounded upset about something. "Doesn't surprise me."

"I didn't even realize I was in the men's section!" Shokuhou said with a laugh, leaning against the door. "I was just wandering around after Misaka-san and I asked Kamijou-san to go with us to the dance. He said maybe."

"Not even a yes or no?" Saten asked. "Did you say you needed his help?"

"We did but, he said he'd be eaten alive for going with us so..." Shokuhou shrugged. "I just lost track of time and started wandering."

"Where's Misaka-san?" Uiharu asked. Mikoto sharply inhaled at the question, waiting for Shokuhou to answer.

"Ah, the poor thing went home." Shokuhou answered. "Seemed pretty upset that he said no, and we split up a while ago." Mikoto rolled her eyes at the excuse Shokuhou used, but she supposed there wasn't much she could've said. The two had kept together since the dance had been announced, so seeing one without the other must've been weird. "I'll have to check on her later."

"Right." Saten said. "I suppose we'll leave you to it then. See ya!"

"Bye!" Shokuhou said. Mikoto listened to the trio walked away, and she exhaled her breath is relief. "Before you get mad at me, yes I controlled them and made them leave."

"I really don't mind." Mikoto muttered. "It wouldn't have been good if they found me. Can we hurry this up and get what I need to wear and get out?"

"Good idea. Gather up all those clothes."

"Why?"

"So we can buy them all and try them in the privacy of our own home, for what other reason?"

* * *

"Why are you being so quiet, Shirai-san?" Saten asked. "You have been since you came back."

"Just...thinking." Kuroko replied. "It's nothing."

"Hm, but I really do feel bad for Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san." Uiharu said. "getting asked out again and again after constant rejection..."

"I understand their irritation,' Saten agreed. " But it must be nice, knowing that so many guys find you attractive."

"Ugh, who cares what those apes think." Kuroko snapped, still thinking about the one whom Onee-sama had asked out. "All they do is get in the way."

"I can't wait until you find a guy who likes you." Saten joked, snickering. "Boy, that'll be the day."

"Never!" Kuroko replied. "I am above the apes."

"Sure sure."

"Well, let's go and shop." Uiharu said, walking off. "There was something I wanted to check out over here." Kuroko followed the others silently, still mauling over what she had heard. She couldn't allow the ape to go with Onee-sama. She had been considering it after what Saten said about another man being a pervert, but after seeing that request, she couldn't allow it. The question was, however, how did she plan on keeping them apart? The ape had only given her a maybe, so if he didn't intend to go, Kuroko could definitely give him a push in the right direction. Surely he would listen to reason, right?

 _He may be an ape, but he's sharper than most, I'll admit._

But. But but but, what if what she did was not enough? What if the ape went to the dance anyway? What if she was not convincing enough? There was no way she could live with it if something happened to her Onee-sama if she went with that ape.

 _No no, he'll listen to reason. Surely he's not that stupid..._

* * *

"Come ooonnn Misaka-san, let me see!"

"This is stupid!"

"Come on!" Growling to herself, Mikoto swallowed her pride and walked out of her room and down the hall, to where Shokuhou was waiting for her. She stood at the end of the hall and he'd her arms out, not bothering to smile.

"Ta da." She said. Shokuhou observed the outfit with her tongue in her cheek.

"It looks okay." She said. "Did we buy any baggier pants? I can still tell you're a girl."

"Of course you can tell I'm a girl, I am!" Mikoto said. "And you already know I'm a girl. Look at this like you don't know." Shokuhou nodded and re-observed the outfit.

"You must be a very feminine man then." Shokuhou said. "Try finding a pair of baggier pants." Mikoto rolled her eyes and trudged back to her room, slamming the door behind her as she did. Throwing the useless pants into the 'Return' pile, Mikoto began looking through the pile that she hadn't looked at yet. Most of the pairs she could eliminate right away, they were too tight or the same size as the other pair she'd just given a no too. After what seemed like a millennium, right at the bottom of the pile, she found it. A pair of black dress pants, a size or so larger than the others. Slipping into them, Mikoto looked around her a belt to keep them up. Finding one, she did it up and did a test walk around her room. They were comfortable to boot.

 _Suppose it's better than most..._ Walking out of her room, Mikoto returned to Shokuhou and stood there, waiting for the blonde's verdict. Shokuhou, after what seemed like forever, smiled.

"Perfect." She said. "I can barely tell. Plus, with my Mental Out to help, no one will be able to tell with those."

"You think?" Mikoto asked.

"Absolutely." Shokuhou said. "No, we need to do something about your face."

"Say what?" Mikoto asked, stepping back a bit from the blonde. "My face?"

"Yes, your face. Not only is it recognizable, it's too feminine. We need some way to conceal it." Mikoto knew her roommate had a point. If anything would give her away at the dance, it was most certainly her face.

"Well, what do we do?" Mikoto asked. Shokuhou hummed in concentration as she thought.

"Sit down." She advised, pointing to one of the swivel chairs at the counter. "I'll be right back." Mikoto did as instructed and sat, hearing Shokuhou walk over to her room. After a moment or two, Mikoto heard her return, and a brush landed on her head.

"What are you...?" Mikoto asked.

"Sshh, don't move." Mikoto did as instructed as Shokuhou brushed her hair, not really with any intention in mind. The blonde reached forward and took the clip out of her hair, and Mikoto knew why. No guy would've worn a flowery clip like that. Mikoto felt Shokuhou grab the end of her already short hair, wrap an elastic around it, and let go.

"Boom." Shokuhou said. "Pony tail."

"Is it convincing?" Mikoto asked, a mirror being placed in her hand. Looking at herself in it, Mikoto kind of liked the small pony tail. At least it looked convincing.

"It'll have to do." Shokuhou replied. "You may have to pretend to be an asshole."

"Why?"

"Pony tail, baggy clothes, we may have to get you some sunglasses to cover your eyes, it'd be the smartest way for you to act." That seemed logical, at least to Mikoto. "Alright, stage two."

"Which is?" Mikoto asked as Shokuhou pointed to the couch. Upon walking to it and sitting down, Shokuhou paced in front of her.

"You may look the part, but you have to act it too."

"Say what?" Shokuhou smirked at Mikoto when she asked.

"Did you really think you'd get to cross dress without learning how to act like a man?"

 **Oh Shokuhou, the master at ridiculous plans. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	16. Stage Two: Acting

**I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story! It's always great to see people enjoying reading what I love to do.**

 **Enjoy!**

"What?" Mikoto asked weakly, watching Shokuhou pace back and forth.

"I said you need to know how to act like a man." She replied. "You can't just be a mute."

"Fair enough, but are you really the best teacher?" Shokuhou stopped pacing and looked at Mikoto.

"Who else would teach you?" She asked. "No one else is in on this plan we can trust. Or did you want to ask Accelerator or Sogiita?" The last thing Mikoto wanted was Accelerator or Sogiita aware of this plan.

"Never mind then." Mikoto said weakly. "Let's just get this over with." Shokuhou nodded.

"Okay, well first things first we have too... Misaka-san what is that?"

"What?" Mikoto asked. Shokuhou face palmed.

"This is going to be harder than I thought." Mikoto heard her mutter. "Misaka-san, fix your posture."

"Eh?"

"Do you honestly think any self respecting man would sit like that? Seriously." Mikoto looked down. Truthfully she was sitting in a rather attentive position, her hands on her knees, legs pressed together. Mikoto made a face.

"What do I do?" She asked. Shokuhou rolled her eyes.

"First of all, lose the hands on the knees." Mikoto did as she was told and placed her hands by her side. Shokuhou groaned and grabbed Mikoto's arms, crossing them over her chest. "There, better. Now, split your legs." Mikoto did not react right away, unsure of what that meant. Shokuhou didn't say anything else until she had grabbed Mikoto's legs and split them, making Mikoto feel a little stupid. Shokuhou pushed Mikoto so she was leaning back against the couch, and leaned back to admire her handiwork.

"We almost have the sitting posture down." She said. "Try scowling. If you're playing a rude guy, you'll be doing a lot of that." Mikoto forced her face into a deep frown and glared up at Shokuhou, who grinned. "Good, good. With the glasses we'll get for you, no one will be able to tell."

"I still think this is stupid." Mikoto muttered.

"It is, but right now it could work." Shokuhou replied. "Now, we're going to have to work on your voice. No asshole would be a mute." It made sense, but Mikoto was losing interest in this plan the more and more she was forced to practice.

"Are you sure there's nothing else we can do?" She asked hesitantly.

"Not unless you want to grovel at Kamijou-san's feet, no." Well Shokuhou had her in a corner now, there was no way Mikoto was going to try and convince that idiot again. She's just have to deal with this. "If there's no more objections, let's begin your voice training."

"Alright, let's do it." Mikoto muttered, still sitting in the position Shokuhou had left her in.

"First things first, you must remember we're having you play an ass. You have to be rude, objective, whatever else. Just don't be nice."

"Got it."

"Okay, then I'm going to run a few sentences past you, and respond in accordance."

"Uh, alright." Shokuhou nodded and cleared her throat, a thoughtful look on her face. Mikoto sat in her position, waiting for Shokuhou to come up with a sentence to say. After about thirty seconds past, Shokuhou still had not said anything. Mikoto waited another thirty seconds until she got a little irritated. "Are you going to say anything or not?" She demanded, bouncing her leg up and down to distract herself.

"I was thinking up a name." Shokuhou replied. "We can't call you Misaka-san." It hadn't even crossed Mikoto's mind she'd need a fake name, but she did. After all, wouldn't everyone want to know the name of the guy a Level 5 brought out on a date? Mikoto began thinking of names as well, but nothing really came to her.

"Hold on." Mikoto looked up to see Shokuhou on her phone. "I'm just going to look up a name generator." Mikoto waited somewhat impatiently for the blonde to do so, before Shokuhou smiled and snapped her fingers. "Takayama Kioshi sounds good. Like it?"

"I guess." Mikoto said, shrugging. It made no difference anyway.

"Alright, we'll go with that then." Shokuhou once again cleared her throat. "Oh Takayama-san, do you want to dance?" The words came out in a sickly sweet tone, Mikoto frowned even deeper.

"As if." She replied. "Who'd want to dance with you?" Shokuhou grinned.

"That was good!" She complimented, "Just deepen your voice next time, and you'll nail it! Let me try again." Mikoto winced as Shokuhou cleared her throat again. "Takayama-san, do you want to dance?" Before Mikoto once again responded harshly, she remembered she was supposed to act like a guy. coughing a few times to try and deepen her voice, Mikoto snickered and leaned her head back.

"As if." She said, surprising herself at the tone that came from her throat. "Who the hell would ever want to dance with you? Your can dance about as well as a dying animal." Mikoto stared up at the roof for a minute before returning her gaze to Shokuhou, who seemed a bit taken aback. "Was that better?" She asked.

"That was...pretty good." Shokuhou conceded. "We just have to work on your tone. I can tweak it with limited Mental Out usage at the dance, but you still got to get it down in case the music's too loud."

"..." Mikoto couldn't really say anything, she had no objections nor anything to add. Shokuhou leaned back against the wall next to the TV.

"Alright, from the top, we'll try a bunch of different lines. Takayama-san, can you get me a drink?"

* * *

Mikoto's vocal chords felt like they were on fire the next two days, all throughout. She and Shokuhou had spent maybe two and a half hours going over various lines to make her sound as rude and inconsiderate as possible, and now she was paying the price. She had almost lost her voice, now it was scratchy and useless. Of course, this only made turning down all the various guys only more difficult as she tried to convey her rejection and sore throat. She was currently in class, enjoying the limited free time she had before someone asked her out. Itagaki had stepped out for a moment, and of course the class had exploded at the chance to talk.

"Hey, Misaka-san!" Mikoto looked up to see Shokuhou standing beside her desk, a smile on her face like usual.

"What?" Mikoto croaked. Shokuhou's smile turned into a frown.

"Your throat isn't any better?" She asked. Mikoto shook her head. "We must've pushed you too hard, sorry. Anyway, I have something for you!" Shokuhou dug into the bag in her hands and the object slid across Mikoto's desk before stopping right in front of her. Sunglasses.

"What're those for?" She whispered out of curiosity.

"They're to help hide your face." Shokuhou replied. "So you're, you know, less recognizable."

"Thanks, anything else?"

"Uh..." Shokuhou dug into her pocket, not meeting Mikoto's eyes. "Here." There in Shokuhou's hand lay cough drops, Mikoto recognized them from the ones in the vending machines around the grounds. She hadn't even thought of that. "You were too stubborn to get them yourself, so here. Have them." Mikoto took the package, staring down at it. it was unusual, even for the new Shokuhou, to do something thoughtful.

"Thanks." Mikoto said, unwrapping them and putting one in her mouth.

"Don't mention it. Seriously." Shokuhou replied. "Anyway, we'll pick your training back up once your feeling better."

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Both girls froze as Accelerator threw himself into the conversation.

"Uh..." Shokuhou muttered.

"Girl stuff." Mikoto replied, casting a look over her shoulder at the Number One. "You wouldn't be interested."

"Last I checked girl stuff didn't require training that made your throat sore." Accelerator shot back. It took a moment before his face flickered with amusement. "Oh, _that_ kind of training. Never mind."

"Ugh!" Mikoto said, giving him a disgusted look. "That's the last thing we'd ever talk about! Don't even go there."

"Well, what else could it have been? Perhaps what you plan to do about your 'situation'?"

"Like I said, you wouldn't be interested." Mikoto replied, leaving the conversation at that. Accelerator clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Fine, whatever. I'll find out soon enough, if your plan is going to help the dance situation."

"Why's that?" Shokuhou asked. "I thought you said you weren't going."

"I wasn't going to, until third-rate gave me the idea to, well, she knows." Mikoto made a face as she turned around.

"What did I ever...?"

 _"I'm sure you're a riot when you're wasted, third-rate."_

Mikoto's eyes widened as she stared at Accelerator, who deadpanned right back.

"Don't you even." She threatened.

"I didn't say anything." Accelerator replied innocently. Well, as innocently as someone like him could manage, anyway. Mikoto didn't know if Accelerator was just kidding, which would be a first for the albino student, but if he wasn't, the dance was surely going to be a bit more interesting. "Besides, you wouldn't be interested anyway."

"Ugh, why do I get the feeling this is going to go so downhill..."

* * *

"Alright well, for the sake of your vocal chords, we'll have you speak as little as possible."

"Good, otherwise I'd be a goner." Mikoto sighed and sat down in a defeated slump. She'd been practicing talking for the last twenty minutes, and her throat was already starting to hurt. It didn't help that what Accelerator had said earlier was weighing to heavily on her mind.

"Hey, catch!" Mikoto looked up in time to see her sunglasses land in her lap. "Put those on, see how they look." Mikoto picked them up and placed them over her eyes.

"Well?" She asked, looking over at Shokuhou.

"It's perfect." Shokuhou replied. "Can barely tell it's you. With some Mental Out tweaking, no one will ever know."

"Alright, so we're done?" Shokuhou nodded. "Alright, I'm going to take this stuff off then." Mikoto got up and began to walk to her room, until Shokuhou clicked her tongue.

"Uh oh." The blonde said. "I forgot that."

"What?" Mikoto asked.

"You still walk like a girl." Mikoto stared at her roommate for a moment to check if she was serious or not, but Number Five did not start laughing or anything. "We're going to have to work on that."

"Seriously?" She asked. "How can you even tell?"

"I can tell, alright?" Shokuhou replied. "It's to easy."

"Ugh, what do I do?"

"Walk back in my direction." Mikoto did as instructed and waited for Shokuhou's verdict. "Don't swing your arms as much. A little, but not too much." Mikoto did another walk with that in mind. "Hm, take bigger steps. Your steps are too girly." Mikoto ignored the foolish things Shokuhou said and did as instructed. "That's much better. Just mind the arms and your steps."

"Whatever." Mikoto hissed, not taking either bit of advice as she walked back to her room and shed the men's clothing, putting on her own casual wear. Once she walked back out into the living area, Shokuhou's face was buried in the fridge. Mikoto walked up to her and leaned on the fridge.

"You know." She said. "For the one acting like the girl in this stupid plan, you really ought to stop eating so unhealthily."

"Don't know what you mean." Shokuhou replied innocently as she downed a soda. "My diet is flawless. How do you think I maintain this body?"

"Mental Out?"

"Shut up." Mikoto smiled at her joke and she walked back to the couch and threw herself onto it, resting her hands behind her head and closing her eyes. "Tired?" Shokuhou asked.

"Yes. The 'Shokuhou Misaki Manly Boot Camp' is really giving it to me." Mikoto joked, yawning. "If this doesn't work out, I'm going to make you do so much of my homework you'll drown in it." Although the blonde was still in the kitchen, Mikoto heard her shiver. Shokuhou was by know means stupid, in fact she was every bit as smart as Mikoto. She was just lazy. So, obviously, the threat of doing all Mikoto's homework was a very heavy one, not to be taken lightly.

"For more than just your sake, I hope so." Shokuhou replied darkly. "I know you aren't kidding."

"Drown in it." Mikoto emphasized. "It'll be quite the sight."

"Misaaakaaa-saaan, don't be so mean!"

"I'm jumping through hoops to try and make it so you can go to this stupid dance and enjoy yourself, I'll be as rude as I want. Besides, it'll be good practice for when we are there."

"Are you not going to enjoy yourself?" Shokuhou asked.

"I'll be faking a man the whole time. So, I doubt I'll find the time to enjoy my time there. Besides, if Accelerator is really going to do what I think he will, this can only go badly."

"What was that, anyway?"

"Doesn't matter. Point is, I'm doing my best so you can have fun. Cut me some slack at the very least."

"...Well, you are trying pretty hard..." Shokuhou finally shrugged. "Meh, whatever. It'll be over by the next week anyway." By then, Mikoto would have to study for her finals before summer break. The very thought made her stomach turn. Dressing up like a man then start studying for finals right after. Ugh, she didn't need this kind of stress. What did she do to deserve this?

"I'm hungry." She finally said. "Let's go get something."

"I assume it's me paying?" Shokuhou asked.

"Obviously." Mikoto grinned at the sigh that came from Shokuhou.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

Touma was having a relatively nice day. He hadn't experienced any terrible misfortune, and he'd made it home after school with minimal injuries or embarrassment. It seemed odd that it happened, seeing as normally his days were plagued by any and all things deciding that day was the day it rebelled. Well, no matter, the weird luck would resume itself soon enough, he just had to wait on it.

 _Weird luck, huh..._

 _"I'm not doing this for any reason other than I need a date, or I'll be hounded all night while I'm there. So...I need you..."_

Touma groaned and fell back on his bad as he remembered the words of the third strongest Level 5. He had no idea what he was supposed to do about her. On one hand, her question had seemed so genuine and desperate that Touma's nature screamed at him to help her in any way physically possible. Even if that whole second asking had been a ploy to make him take both girls, he still felt bad that they needed help so badly that they'd practically begged.

 _Or was she...serious?_

No no, that wasn't possible. There was literally no way Misaka had asked him for herself, one hundred percent seriously. Not possible. It wasn't her style whatsoever, anyway.

"Besides, she'll be fine. If she's sparks enough the guys will leave her be. Or maybe she treats other guys differently from me, which makes more sense..."

 _Bzzt bzzt!_

Touma looked over at his door at the sound, someone waiting for him outside. Getting up from his bed, he walked towards it and opened it, plastering a smile on his face.

"Hello...Shirai?" The Level 4 teleporter from Judgment was standing outside Touma's door, watching him carefully. "Why are you here? To insult me perhaps?"

"That depends on how this goes down." Shirai replied calmly. "May I come in?" Touma thought about it for a moment before he nodded and stepped aside, allowing her entrance. Shirai stopped in the middle of his place and made a sound. "Somehow, it's as unimpressive as I'd imagined."

"Did you need something Shirai?" Touma asked. "I'm honestly at a loss as to why you're here."

"It's about Onee-sama." Of course it was, why had Touma not seen that sooner? Why else would Shirai come here to see him?

"Oh, of course." he said. "Did she forget something here? Needed a favor and couldn't ask herself?"

"No, I came to ask you something about Onee-sama." This set Touma on guard. Shirai had come here on her own will? He somehow had a feeling he was going to experience death.

"Uh..."

"I see no need to dance around my point, so I'll come out with it. Do you or do you not plan to take Onee-sama to her dance?" Touma's eyes widened as these words left Shirai's mouth. Judging from how dead calm the teleporter was, his answer would determine if he survived this day with no metal needles in his arms.

"I-I mean..." Touma began, scratching the back of his head. "I haven't really given in much thought."

"You haven't given a date with Onee-sama much thought?! Are you truly a stupid ape?!" Shirai paused and coughed to clear her throat after the outburst. "What I meant to say was, will you or not?"

"Uh.." Touma weighed his options. On one hand, if he said anything to Shirai about going with Misaka, he'd end up with an angry teleporter and have to defuse that. Or, he could say he didn't plan to and keep her calm and satisfied. The answer seemed obvious. "No, I don't intend to take her. Too much of a hassle." At these words, Shirai broke out into a grin.

"Oh thank goodness!" She said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was worried there for a second."

"Hehe, yeah. No worries, I don't plan to."

"Good. I mean, like Onee-sama should have to waste her precious youth taking you to dances."

"Hm, yeah."

"I mean, what are you to her? An ape to a princess."

"Yeah..."

"You'd have done nothing but get in her way. Quite honestly I don't know why she's friends with you. You are just an ape."

"..."

"I mean really, you ad Onee-sama? that'd fall apart without my help. You two...It just doesn't work."

"...Right." Touma after hearing these insults out of Shirai's mouth, felt a little different about the situation. Sure a lot of what she said was true, but her words hurt more than they usually did. Touma was accustomed to getting insulted by Shirai, but this hit home a little more.

"Well, it's all for the best. I mean, what would've happened if people say her with you anyway? Surely no one could understand that, even if you said just going as friends." Shirai shrugged. "Well, thanks you Kamijou-san. You've set my heart at ease. I'll be leaving now."

"Right, okay." Touma followed Shirai to the door and shut in behind her, leaning against it. Now what? Shirai's words had angered him slightly, but he'd said he wasn't going.

 _Since when do you make decisions to please her? If you take Misaka to the dance, no one, not even Shirai, should be able to tell you otherwise._

Touma pulled out his phone and opened it, scrolling to Misaka's name. His hand hovered over it for a moment before he sighed and closed it. He wasn't going to do that, that'd make him a complete idiot. Touma grinned to himself as he walked away from the door and back to his bed, sitting on it. He thought over his plan for a moment before he grinned and decided to do it.

 _After all, Biribiri will appreciate me surprising her, right?_

 **Ah damn it Touma, look what you did. Now we have a situation on our hands. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	17. Stage Three: Complications

**I'm back again, and to address something. You all seem to be under the assumption Mikoto won't be acting like a guy.**

 **I never said that.**

 **Enjoy!**

Friday. The final Friday of the month of May, and the day of Nagatenjouki's dance. It was the final waning moments before her first class started, and Mikoto was once again becoming nervous, but for a totally different reason then last time. Last time she'd been on her way to speak to her whole school, this time she was dressing up like a man and acting like one for a few hours, in the middle of her classmates who under no circumstances could find out she was cross dressing.

Needless to say she was a bit stressed.

"Nervous, third-rate?" Mikoto ignored Accelerator's question. "Can't imagine why."

"You can't." She replied, turning her head around to glare at him. "And you better not do anything."

"What could you possibly be talking about?" Accelerator asked innocently. "I plan on enjoying myself tonight."

"Yeah I bet." She replied. "What could you be doing? Spiking the drinks? Replacing water with vodka? What?"

"Don't know what you mean." Accelerator spat. "I'm a little hurt you're assuming me right now."

"First, no you're not." Mikoto replied. "Second, I'm not stupid. I know you're going to do something, I just have to wait and see."

"Alright, wait and see." Accelerator said. "You'll be disappointed." The bell rang right about then, so Mikoto turned back around to the front. As Itagaki began their first lesson, she was doing her best to pay attention but failed with all of the theories flying around in her head. Was she going to get away with this? What was Accelerator going to do? Was Shokuhou going to slip up? Was she going to slip up? Was she going to get seen through? Too many questions, and it made it impossible for her to pay attention whatsoever.

 _I just need to get this over with...I'm going crazy..._

"Misaka-san!"

"Gah!"

* * *

Mikoto was taking deep breathes outside in the courtyard during her lunch break, trying to calm herself down a bit. The summer sun was a little bit calming, but not much.

"Worried?" Shokuhou asked next to her.

"What do you think?" She asked weakly. "I'm terrified I'll get caught."

"I'll erase the memory." Shokuhou replied. "Don't worry about it." Mikoto ignored the statement from the blonde and continued wallowing in anxiety. She couldn't back out now, she had gone along with this for far to long.

"I'm not sure I can do this." Mikoto finally said, voicing her doubt.

"You can." Shokuhou reassured, placing a hand on Mikoto's shoulder. "It'll be a breeze, just stop thinking about it."

"How can I do that?" Mikoto asked. "This is ten times more stressful than the presentation."

"You can." Shokuhou repeated. "Just don't worry about it at all, alright?"

"Ugh." Mikoto covered her face with her hands again and remained quiet, a small breeze. "I just hope we can get through this with minimal difficulty."

"Yeah, I..." Shokuhou paused and then cursed. "Damn, seriously?"

"What's up?" Mikoto asked. Shokuhou was staring ahead of the two girls, and Mikoto followed her gaze. Walking towards them was a group of three guys. Mikoto recognized them as second years, she'd seen them before. Obviously this was their last ditch effort to get the girls to go out with one of them.

Because Mikoto needed more stress in her life.

"Well, prepare some lines to shoot them down." Mikoto said with a sigh. "Just like every other time."

"Oh don't worry, I got this." Mikoto heard the boys come to a stop in front of them, and it was another moment before anyone spoke.

"H-Hey, ladies." one of them said. The way he began was so cringe worthy Mikoto almost laughed. "What're you doing?" Mikoto wasn't even looking up, so Shokuhou took charge.

"Relaxing between classes." She replied in her normal sickly sweet tone. "What about you guys?"

"Oh you know, same." Silence, then, "So uh, you have a date for the dance tonight Shokuhou-san?" Shokuhou did not reply immediately, and Mikoto heard the boy falter a little. "I-I mean, I know a lot of guys have asked you, but I just figured I'd ask because I don't and..."

"Well aren't you adorable?" Shokuhou asked sweetly. "I appreciate the offer, but unfortunately I have a date for tonight."

...

"Huh?" The boys asked collectively. Even Mikoto peered up from her hands.

"I have a date." Shokuhou replied, casting them an innocent smile. Mikoto could see her holding her remote behind her back, obviously to use as a last ditch effort in case things got out of hand. "But I do appreciate the offer."

"O-Oh." Mikoto still hadn't looked up, partially because if she did randomly it'd been a little weird. "W-What about you, Misaka-san?"

"Eh?" Mikoto asked, finally being given an excuse to look up.

"You've been quiet." The boy said. "Do you have a date? You seemed rather down a second ago."

"A-Ah, well..."

"She has a date too." Shokuhou answered before Mikoto could come up with an answer.

"What?!" She hissed. "Shokuhou, I don't...!"

"Don't be so modest, Misaka-san!" Shokuhou said loudly. "You were fretting about it only a moment before! I'm sure he'll love the dress you picked out!" Mikoto didn't know what the hell was going on within Shokuhou's head, and she was scrambling to figure it out. Shokuhou turned and aimed her remote at the group of boys. "Now, you guys can go." The whole group turned on their heels and left, leaving Mikoto confused and an indifferent Shokuhou.

"What was that?!" She hissed. "I don't have a date! I'm not even technically going to be there!"

"But they have to assume you are." Shokuhou replied, sighing. "So obviously I said you had a date to make them back off."

"There is literally no logic behind the things you do or the decisions you make." Mikoto growled, resting her head on her hand again. "Tomorrow cannot come sooner."

"I completely agree, don't get me wrong."

* * *

 _Ring ring!_

"And there's the bell." Itagaki said as the entire class breathed a sigh of relief. Pretty much everyone there was saying the day was trickling by too slowly.

The day felt incredibly short to Mikoto, and she hated that.

Now only a few hours remained before the start of the dance, and then it was showtime. Until then Shokuhou had designated as the time where they could put any finishing touches on Mikoto's disguise or they're story, whatever else was needed.

"Now I know all of you are going to enjoy yourselves tonight." Itagaki said, a weak smile on his face. "But remember, you do have an essay due a week after today, so remember to finish that up. Don't let tonight get in the way." Pretty much everyone groaned at this as they stood to leave, but Mikoto stayed sitting, head down on the desk.

"See ya, third-rate." Accelerator said, walking past her. "I have stuff I need to do."

"Bye." Mikoto replied, not even bothering to to ask what that 'stuff' was. At this point she couldn't care less about whatever the hell Accelerator was planning on. Whatever is was, it would pale in comparison to her feelings on the plan she was involved in. As the rhythmic tapping of Accelerator's cane dyed away, the classroom was silent. Mikoto didn't know if she was alone, but if gave her some solace if she was.

"Come on." It was Shokuhou's voice, and a hand rested on her shoulder. "Lets go."

"...Right." Mikoto finally said, standing from her seat. following Shokuhou through the school and outside in the direction of the dorms, neither spoke a word. The stress was just a bit too much. Once they reached their dorm, both girls through their bags aside and just stood there in the silence.

"I suppose I should...Go get ready and practice huh?" Mikoto asked after a minute.

"Yea, probably." Shokuhou replied absentmindedly. Mikoto dragged her feet to her room and shut the door, sighing she she leaned against it. She tried to follow a line of events that had lead to this point in time but, sadly, she couldn't come up with anything. Opening her closet and dragging her disguise out, she removed her uniform and put it on. It fit as well as she remembered, which wasn't very well, and walked back out of her room into the living room and sat on the couch where Shokuhou was waiting.

"Well, let's practice, then."

"Right." Shokuhou cleared her throat. "Takayama-san, can you get me a drink?"

"...Get it your damn self." Mikoto replied halfheartedly.

"You'll have to do better than that, Misaka-san."

"Ugh, sorry. Let me try again." Mikoto did her best to focus as she cleared her throat. "Like hell, do it your damn self."

"Better, better." Shokuhou sighed. "I see why you're so nervous about this, it could fall apart pretty easily."

"I've been saying that for a week, but you wouldn't listen to me, would you?" Mikoto asked, sitting back and sighing. "And now we're stuck in this."

"It'll be over soon enough, don't worry about it." Mikoto nodded and hummed a little to herself, thinking over their plan, when something occurred to her, making her stomach turn.

"Uh, S-Shokuhou-san?"

"Yeah?"

"Have...Have you ever been to a dance before?"

* * *

Kuroko did not trust Kamijou as far as she could throw him. Sure he'd outright denied any involvement with Onee-sama and her dance, but she didn't believe him at all. There was no way he would've told her the truth just because she asked, they weren't close like that. Currently she was with Saten and Uiharu walking through the city, but her mind was elsewhere.

"Shirai-san?" Kuroko jumped a little and looked over at Saten, who had addressed her.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Are you okay?" Saten asked. "You've been acting spaced out since we met up." Of course Kuroko was spaced out, she was worried about her Onee-sama. The prospect that the ape had lied to her was still very much prevalent, and she couldn't allow him to get his way.

After all, she wasn't stupid.

"I'm just worried about Onee-sama." She replied. Given Kuroko's normal behavior, she knew it was a logical response.

"Oh yeah, her dance is tonight isn't it?" Uiharu asked. "I wonder if she and Shokuhou-san worked something out so they can enjoy themselves." This in turn only reminded Kuroko of the blonde Level 5, although that was not her biggest concern at the moment.

"They're smart." Saten said. "I'm sure they worked something out so they could have fun."

"Hm, yeah you're right." Uiharu agreed. Kuroko sighed as she zoned out of the conversation, pulling out her phone and checking the time. From what she'd heard from students around the city, the dance started around six. Currently it was four-thirty, so she still had some time to go and check up on the ape.

"Hey Saten-san, Uiharu-san." She said, making both girls pause and turn. Kuroko quickly put on a panicked face. "I-it seems I've angered the Dorm Mistress in some way, so I must go and deal with this..."

It was obviously a lie.

Kuroko could not enjoy herself with the prospect of the ape and Onee-sama going to a dance together. She had o see with her own eyes if he'd lied to her.

"That sounds bad." Saten said weakly. "You should go and deal with that." Kuroko nodded and ran off in the direction of Tokiwadai to give the two girls the assumption that was where she was going. As soon as she was around a corner, she immediately teleported away and closer to the apes dorm. Taking off in that direction, Kuroko weaved in and out of people as she made her way to that boys dorms. Once she made it close, she looked up at the roof and teleported to it, and then she walked to the edge and laid down flat on her stomach to hide herself, watching the door she remembered was his.

 _I don't know if he really plans on anything, but I cannot allow it if he does._

And then, Kuroko waited. She didn't move, she didn't feel uncomfortable, she simply waited for at least forty-five minutes. She didn't care how long it took until she saw him, unless he stayed inside until six, he was suspicious. After another five minutes, Kuroko frowned.

 _Perhaps he didn't lie, maybe he really...!_

The door opened, and Kuroko waited. As she watched, her breath hitched in her throat. Kamijou didn't necessarily clean up very well, but it was apparent he'd tried. Kuroko had seen his normal school uniform, the the shirt he was wearing now was just a long sleeved white dress shirt. He had a tie on, and black dress pants.

Like she said, he'd tried. That was obvious.

She watched him take a deep breath and begin his trek, presumably to the Nagatenjouki grounds. Now, she had a few options. Despite how she hated the thought of the ape and her Onee-sama together, so far she had no reason to get angry. She could wait, or she could stop him where he was now.

She decided to wait.

Despite her feelings on the subject, she knew from past experiences that her Onee-sama often got angry when she attacked Kamijou without prior reasoning. All she had to do now was wait for him to trip up, and she could call him out. She watched him leave the dorms and down the street, and she made sure to keep her distance so he wouldn't detect her.

 _Just wait for him to slip up Kuroko, then we have him right where we want him._

* * *

Accelerator's excuse had been getting groceries. After all, Yomikawa had complained about that as he left. He knew it must've seemed abnormal to the others that he had so willingly gone to get groceries.

But he was by no means getting groceries, he was in a Liquor store.

After all, once third-rate had given him the idea of getting everyone at the dance drunk, he couldn't resist the idea. It just seemed way to funny to pass up the chance. He didn't really pay attention to what he got, he just grabbed bottles and read the labels before deciding on whether or not he'd buy it. he didn't need that many, just a few. Grabbing a vodka bottle and walking down the aisle, Accelerator had the creeping suspicion something was going to happen.

"Stop right there." Of course. Accelerator froze and waited as the voice approached him from behind.

"Yeah?" He asked, not turning around. The voice chuckled darkly.

"Misaka knew it was suspicious that you volunteered so quickly to get groceries, so Misaka followed you."

"Did you now?" Accelerator asked. "Find what you wanted? Me buying booze?"

"Misaka just finds it a bit strange is all." The girl replied. "So, care to explain or should I beat it out of you?"

"I would love to see you try." Accelerator spat. "If you have to know, this liquor is for the dance at my school tonight. I'm planning on spiking the drinks and getting everyone drunk." The girl cackled.

"How deliciously stupid." She hissed. "Is that really all you could come up with? How the mighty have fallen."

"What else was I supposed to do? Kill someone who comes at me?"

"Would've been fun." The girl shrugged. "Misaka doesn't know, seems a bit tame for you."

"Which is the beauty of it." Accelerator replied as they headed towards the counter with a few bottles. "Something scandalous is bound to happen as a result, I just have to sit back and let it happen."

"Oh yeah?" She grinned and put her hands behind her head as Accelerator bought the bottles. "Maybe Misaka will come with you then. Sounds like it'd be hilarious."

"Oh?" Accelerator asked. "I'm not exactly sure, but I think third-rate is going to be there. Might not be a good thing to have to third-rates running around."

Misaka Worst laughed at the prospect.

"Misaka doesn't care, Misaka has to see this."

 **And now Worst is in on it. This just keeps getting worse and worse. This chapter is a few hundred words shorter but I'm sure you guys can look past that, right? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	18. The Dance Begins

**And let's get this mess started, shall we?**

 **Enjoy!**

Misaki stared at her panicked roommate. As she thought over the question as to if she'd been to a dance before, something dawning on her.

"...No." She said slowly. "You?" Misaka shook her head slowly, both girls staring at each other.

"what do people do at them?" Misaka asked.

"Dance, I would think." Misaki replied, crossing her arms and thinking. "Other stuff."

"Is it like a folk dance, maybe?" Misaka asked.

"Similar, I would think." Misaki reasoned. The girl feel silent for a moment.

"Well, looks like it's about time." Misaki looked down at her phone and realized Misaka was right, they'd have to go in a few minutes.

"Seems like it." She replied. Misaki had changed into her outfit for the night, which was just a flashy black dress she found. She hadn't had a lot of time top prepare her own appearance, she was too busy planning Misaka's. Misaka stood and stretched, clearly tense.

"I'll go get my sunglasses." She murmured. Misaki nodded, and the Railgun walked down the hall slowly and into her room. Misaki sat in silence as the tie ticked away, waiting for Misaka to return. Part of her hoped she never did come back so they'd not do this, but there was no backing out now.

 _Bzzt bzzt!_

Misaki jumped and looked over at the door, where the sound had originated from.

 _I wasn't serious about someone trying to come retrieve us right beforehand..._

"Please don't tell me that was the door." Misaka said weakly from behind her door.

"It was." Misaki replied. "Just hold on, I'll deal with it." Taking a deep breath and putting on the most disgustingly sweet smile she could, Misaki grabbed the handle and turned in slowly.

"I appreciate what you're going to offer, but I already..."

"Oh, hey Shokuhou-san."

"...!"

* * *

Mikoto stayed leaned up against her door as she heard Shokuhou answer the front door. She didn't know who the hell it is, but it was pretty clear why they were here.

"Shokuhou-san will deal with the, it's fine." Mikoto muttered quietly. "It's alright."

"H-Hey, Misaka-san?"

"Uh, y-yes?"

"You, uh..." Silence befell after that, and Mikoto waited with baited breath for Shokuhou to say something else. "You said Kamijou-san wasn't going to take you, right?"

"Well, yeah...Why?"

"Oh no reason in particular." Shokuhou replied, sounding off. "You should probably come out here." Mikoto took a deep breath and nodded to herself, turning and opening the door to walk out. She kept her head down as she walked down the hall, gathering her pride for the night.

"Is that seriously your outfit, Biribiri?" Mikoto eyes shot open at this voice, and she looked up to find none other than the idiot standing next to Shokuhou. He had clearly cleaned himself up, and the bright smile on his face both angered her and made her a little happy.

"Wha...!" Mikoto started. She looked over at Shokuhou for some form of assistance, but the blonde shrugged, looking just as confused as her. "Why the hell are you here?!"

"Well, uh..." he rubbed the back of his head. "you said you needed help, so I..."

"You..." Mikoto growled, electricity crackling around her.

"Ah...Biribiri?"

"You're supposed to tell people about this kinda thing!" She shouted, a bolt of lightning flying out, dissipating as it touched his right arm. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to do this?!"

"Uh..." he muttered as the lights flickered around them from the electrical surge. They had fixed the generators, obviously so nothing like that happened again. "Surprise!"

"You IDIOT!" She shouted. "Do you have any idea how mad I am?! How much planning just went out the window thanks to your dumb...!"

"No Misaka-san." Shokuhou said, interrupting her. "This is perfect." Both Mikoto and Touma looked over at her at these words, both confused.

"Eh?" Mikoto asked, anger dying down in place of her curiosity. "How is this a good thing?" Shokuhou grinned mischievously as she stared at the two of them, before she giggled.

"Yep, this is perfect." She said again. "Sit down, the two of you." Mikoto was still incredibly confused, but she sat regardless, Touma next to her. Shokuhou paced back and forth in front of them for a moment, before she sighed, looking back at them. She did this for anther moment before she grinned again.

"Care to explain?" Mikoto asked, Touma nodding in agreement.

"Well, look at it this way." Shokuhou replied. "You need an alibi for tonight, and we were worried my word wasn't enough."

"And?"

"Didn't I tell those guys today you already had a date?" Mikoto made a face as she attempted to fit the puzzle together, and her eyes widened as she did.

"Wait, do you mean...?"

"Exactly." Shokuhou walked up to Touma, and Mikoto narrowed her eyes as Shokuhou sat in his lap, making him blush.

"W-What are you doing?" Touma asked weakly.

"We need a favor, Kamijou-san." Shokuhou purred. The flirtatious way she asked ticked Mikoto off. "You see, because of you not telling Misaka-san you were going to take her, we came up with the next best thing: dressing her up as a man and making her be my date."

"I-Is that so?"

"Uh huh." Shokuhou shifted around a bit, making Touma blush even harder and look away from her. "And now that you're here, we have a job for you."

"W-Which is?"

"Seeing as you went through all the trouble to dress up and come here, I need you to mingle around the dance. If anyone asks you who you are or who you're there with, say you're with Misaka-san."

"B-but she'll be with you."

"But that isn't the point." Shokuhou pointed out. "if I, her roommate, and you, a man no one in the school should know say she's at the dance somewhere, no one would be none the wiser."

"Basically," Mikoto spoke up as Shokuhou got much to close to Touma. "she wants you to say you're with me even if you aren't. That way, less people will be suspicious as to who I'm there with. Because, as Shokuhou-san decided for me only this afternoon, I apparently have a date."

"Ah, that makes more sense." Touma replied as Shokuhou got off of him. "So basically, you need me to lie for you?"

"Essentially, yes." Shokuhou said. "So, how about it?"

"Well..." Touma made a face as he thought. "I suppose I did come without telling you, because clearly I should have."

"Exactly." Mikoto agreed.

"Hm...Alright, fine." Touma caved, Shokuhou squealing happily. "It's the last I can do I guess, after I made the effort to come anyway."

"You're the best Kamijou-san!" Shokuhou gushed, causing Touma to grumble. "It'd be for the best if you went ahead of us, but be careful to not let anyone see you." Touma nodded and headed for the door, mumbling incoherently to himself. Mikoto watched him go, sighing as he shut the door.

"Idiot." She spat. "Who the hell decides to take someone out and not tell them?"

"It's sort of endearing, I think." Shokuhou replied quietly. "I mean, sure he didn't exactly play it the best way, but he do go through all that trouble for you." Mikoto blushed at that thought and looked down, trying to calm herself. "I mean, as jealous as I am, it's sort of cute."

"Shut up." Shokuhou giggled as Mikoto wallowed in embarrassment.

"Anyway, I think he's had enough time to get there, we should go now."

"Right." Mikoto said, feeling a surge of confidence as she and Shokuhou went for the door. Right as they reached it, Shokuhou wrapped herself around Mikoto's free arm, and Mikoto tensed.

"Act natural." She hissed. "This isn't the last time I'll cling to you, so play it off."

"I'm not an idiot." Mikoto replied, relaxing a bit. Sighing, She grabbed the door handle and opened it, immediately putting the smug look she'd practiced in the mirror on and walked outside. The air outside the dorms was sort of humid, which was to be expected, it was practically June. The two of them walked slowly towards the elevator and walked inside, taking it down to the lobby. Once they got there, they saw something rather strange.

"What are you doing, Kamijou-san?" Shokuhou asked. Touma jumped and looked back at them.

"Well..." he began, rubbing his head. He then pointed outside into the courtyard. Mikoto followed his gaze, and she choked on her spit.

Accelerator was standing there, wearing what appeared to be a formal jacket, talking with a very familiar girl with brown hair. Accelerator made a face, and the girl leaned her head back and cackled.

"Worst?!" Mikoto hissed. "Why the hell...?"

"Is that one of the Sisters?" Shokuhou asked. "She seems a bit older, though."

"It's Misaka Worst." Touma replied. "She's an older clone, as I'm sure you can tell." Touma frowned as the two stood there behind the fountain, talking. "I'm not sure why she's here, though. I think she's programmed to feel the whole Network's negative emotion"

"Hm..." Mikoto looked over at Shokuhou at this sound, watching the blonde contemplate something.

"Shokuhou-san?" Mikoto asked. "What is it?" The blonde did nothing but smile.

"This'll be fun." She murmured, striding towards the door, Mikoto and Touma watching weakly. Following after a moment, Mikoto saw Accelerator notice they're approach. "Accelerator!" the albino looked up as Shokuhou called him, flinching as he noticed them.

"Fifth-rate." he replied as they reached him. Accelerator scanned Mikoto until he snickered. "That you, third-rate?"

"Shut up." Mikoto grumbled.

"Misaka didn't know the original was into cross dressing." Worst laughed. Mikoto rolled her eyes. It was going to be a long night.

"Anyway Accelerator, Worst, we need some help." Shokuhou said with a grin. "Care to listen?"

"Do we have too?"

* * *

That was how Mikoto, Accelerator, Worst, and Touma had been forced onto a bench to listen to the convoluted plan Shokuhou told them about.

"Any questions?" Shokuhou asked.

"This is retarded." Worst said immediately.

"Agreed." Accelerator added.

"Yeah." Mikoto said.

"Hard to disagree." Touma finished.

"It's simple!" Shokuhou replied. "Misaka-san, you'll be my date for the night! Kamijou-san and Worst, you to are going to be together for the night. Worst, you'll be playing the part of Misaka-san, so look alive. Accelerator...You can do your own thing." The four individuals on the bench exchanged looks, before Accelerator clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"I'm not involved, I don't care." He said.

"No way in hell is Misaka going to pretend to be the original." Worst said. "Misaka'll pass."

"Alright, look at it this way" Shokuhou said, addressing Worst. "Come here, Worst." the clone groaned but stood, skulking as she walked over to Shokuhou. Shokuhou whispered something in her ear, and Mikoto watched the usually scowling clone look over at them, then whispered something, before she grinned darkly.

"Misaka likes the way you think." Worst said to Shokuhou, who grinned back. "Misaka will do it as best she can."

"Excellent!" Shokuhou replied happily as Worst crossed her arms. "Are you alright with this, Kamijou-san?"

"I suppose." Touma replied, shrugging. "It'd dispel any wonder where Biribiri is."

"Yes!" Shokuhou said, "Alright, now that that's settled, shall we go in?"

* * *

Kuroko was slightly embarrassed to admit she'd lost the ape in the crowd in Nagatenjouki's courtyard, so she decided her best bet was to just go to the gym, were the dance was being held. She kept herself hidden in the crowd until she got close enough, when she noticed what appeared to be a checkpoint of sorts. Probably to make sure no middle school students like herself made it in.

That was of course no problem for Kuroko, as she had a direct line of sight inside. Teleporting inside from outside sent Kuroko's senses a little off, the music growing much loud extremely fast. Once she regained herself, she looked around for a good place to hold up and stake it out. She wasn't exactly dressed up for the occasion, so she stuck out horribly.

 _Hmm...Where to hide myself?_

Kuroko looked up and noticed the rafters up above. Grinning, she calculated the distance and disappeared from the dance floor. She balanced as best she could on the rafters above, settling down and keeping watch on the door. It wasn't long before Kuroko spotted Shokuhou enter. Kuroko hated to admit it, but the blonde looked rather good. The blonde turned and said something to the man that was with her, who laughed and snapped in reply. Kuroko felt a tightness in her chest.

 _That ape is rather attractive...GAH! What what what what what?! I don't like those primates! I'm only for Onee-sama!...Oh?_ Looking back down, the ape had entered. He turned towards the door and said something, and Kuroko waited with shallow breathing. Just then, a slender arm reached through the door and latched onto the ape, and Kuroko gasped.

 _Since when have you been so beautiful Onee-sama?! I don't recall being this stunned by your beauty since we met! Where did you get that dress?! You look so mature...in so many areas..._

Kuroko stopped herself as she began to drool a bit. She wasn't here to fawn over her Onee-sama, she could do that anytime she wanted. She had to make sure that ape didn't try anything indecent. Especially now that she knew her Onee-sama looked like _that,_ she had to make absolutely sure nothing happened.

"For her purity...I will not let anything happen!"

* * *

She'd been doing it for only fifteen minutes and Worst was going to snap. She wouldn't have agreed to this if she'd known this would've happened. Her head pounded painfully, and it wasn't from the terrible pop music playing.

 _Why did I even agree to this...?_

* * *

 _"So Worst, I hear you're tuned to feel the negative emotion from the Misaka Network?" Worst had nodded curtly. "From what I've gathered, you seem to like negative feelings. So what if I told you just how much the original and the clones love the guy over there?" Worst cast a look at the man in question. She'd heard all about that, yes._

 _"What of it?" She whispered._

 _"Just imagine how jealous the other clones would be if they learned you were on a date with him."_

* * *

 _Oh, right_

Worst had figured that pretending to be on a date with this guy would irritate the whole network, and she could revel in that irritation. It had seemed so appealing at the time.

Now she regretted doing it. She was currently being subjected to all the jealousy from the network, and that in turn made her realize just how much the Original and the other Sisters liked this guy. That only made it more difficult for her to control herself.

She was supposed to be imitating the original on top of all of that, so anything she did would probably get her in bigger trouble.

"You alright?" The man in question asked. "You're fidgeting."

"Just peachy." She hissed, turning her venomous scowl into a half hearted smile. Happiness was not her thing, so it probably looked stupid. Ignoring his gaze, Worst looked around for something to distract her.

 _I mean, theoretically, a girl on a date would do something like this..._

Worst slammed her body into his, rubbing up against him. Kamijou made a weird sound as she did so, but it didn't help the jealousy swirling around in Worst's head.

"What're you doing?" Thankfully, the action went unnoticed by most

"Playing the part." She hissed. "Play alon..!" Worst paused mid sentence. Her spine tingled, and for a moment, her body tensed. Worst brought a hand to her head in confusion, rubbing her forehead.

"You felt that too?" Kamijou asked, rubbing his own head.

"Yeah." Worst said. "It felt like someone was glaring at us..." Worst grinned, pressing herself against him again. Once again her spine tingled, and know she knew someone was indeed glaring at her for the action.

Maybe this'd be more fun after all.

* * *

Mikoto shivered. She whipped her head around in confusion, looking for the source of her odd reaction.

"What?" Shokuhou asked from her arm. "Something the matter?"

"I shivered." Mikoto replied. "It's not even very cold in here."

"Hm, well maybe it was just..."

"No," Mikoto interrupted. "it was a shiver I usually only get when I'm being glared at."

"You are my date." Shokuhou said. "That's probably it, jealousy stares" Mikoto wished that was it, but it felt different that jealousy glares, she got those a lot. It felt more like when...

"Forget it." Mikoto said. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Yeah, agreed." As a few people passed by, Mikoto noticed them looking at them out of the corners of their eyes, Shokuhou pressed herself closer to Mikoto, who plastered a harsh grin on her face. She hated how most guys who spotted them together got the wrong idea, but that was the whole point of her disguise.

"Are you using Mental Out on me?" Mikoto whispered, Shokuhou nodding.

"I did a little tweaking here and there." She replied. "Just to make you look more manly." Mikoto didn't reply as she gazed at the huge crowd. The majority of them were just standing around, talking and laughing with their friends. She assumed that this was what people did at a dance, stood around. Wasn't party more of a logical thing to call it then? As Mikoto observed, she spotted Touma and Worst. Seeing, technically herself, pressed up against him like that made Mikoto feel fuzzy inside, but she tried to ignore it. Worst seemed to be enjoying herself, judging from the look on her face. Touma looked indifferent.

"This may just work." She murmured.

* * *

Accelerator kept to himself as he walked up to where the refreshments were. the huge cliched punch bowl as there, with a multitude of cups around it. He pushed his way through the crowd and up to it, walking behind it.

Obviously no one payed him any mind, he was pretty dangerous. As casually as possible, he reached in the jacket he was wearing, grinning as his hands made contact with the glass. Pulling it out, he opened it up and leaned it against the bowl, shifting so he could pour it in as discretely as possible.

Once the vodka bottles had been emptied, Accelerator hid them back in his jacket and left, once again keeping to himself.

"Time for the real fun to begin." he muttered to himself.

 **And Accelerator just had to do it, didn't he? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	19. Baited

**Man, sorry for the wait guys! I just went back to school (Ugh) and it's been sapping my energy. However, have no fear. In the past I've actually uploaded more during my school year. I know it's weird, but whatever. We're also coming up on twenty chapters and 200 reviews, both of which are awesome! Can we get twelve reviews to break 200?  
Enjoy!**

Mikoto did not stop being on edge, which made sense. Once Shokuhou got to close, she could feel the eyes of her classmates fall to her. Of course no one knew it was her, but she still didn't like the feeling.

"You're fidgeting too much." Shokuhou murmured in her ear. Mikoto rolled her eyes.

"Sorry for being nervous." She muttered. "I'm just trying to make sure no one gets suspicious as to who I really am is all. It's nothing." Shokuhou rolled her eyes.

"No one has a single clue." She reassured. "Just keep to the practice and you'll do fine."

"Yeah, whatever." Mikoto growled, crossing her arms for effect. She was playing an asshole, after all. The angrier she looked, the better.

"Oooohhhh, is that Shokuhou-chan?" Shokuhou and Mikoto both flinched at these voices. Both turned to find a group of second-year girls approaching them, looking rather full of themselves. Mikoto really didn't know why, they all had tried too hard to look good The redhead in front sneered. "How nice one of you level 5's decided to grace us with your presence! Where's Misaka-chan? Not here maybe?" Shokuhou rolled her eyes.

"She's over there with her date." Shokuhou replied, gesturing in Touma and Worst's general direction. "Why?"

"Oh, just surprised is all." The one in front said. "I didn't think the girls who turned down every guy in the entire school would show, with dates no less." The girl then looked at Mikoto, who stiffened. "This your date?" She asked. Shokuhou did not reply right away, a concentrated look on her face. Mikoto coughed to alert her, and Shokuhou jumped, and Mikoto saw the remote hidden behind her back.

"U-Uh, right." She replied offhandedly. Mikoto could tell her roommate had zoned out while attempting to buff up Mikoto's image for the girls. "This is Takayama Kioshi-san, my date." Mikoto nodded at the girls, hoping this would be enough. The redhead smiled.

"Takayama-san, hmm?" She purred, and Mikoto rolled her eyes. "You're Shokuhou-chan's date?"

"What of it?" Mikoto demanded lowly. The group giggled, and Mikoto sighed. She had far to much experience with girls (Kuroko) hitting on her, but she had to commend Shokuhou's manipulation of her image if this girl was that confused.

"Just curious was all." She replied honestly. "But hey, if you ever get bored with Shokuhou-chan, you can always come see us." Mikoto snorted.

"Right." She said. "Because I'll want to spend my night with a group of desperate girls trying to jump on any guy they see." Mikoto glowered at the girls as effectively as she could. "Sorry, but I'm not into desperation, and you reek of it." Their faces flickered satisfyingly with anger, and Mikoto smirked. As they walked away, Shokuhou breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who were they?" The blonde asked.

"Second-years, I've seen them before." Mikoto replied. "Apparently they're going after guys who have a date."

"Let's hope there isn't anymore of them." Mikoto agreed with that statement wholeheartedly. "Now, can you get me a drink? I'm sort of thirsty."

"Sure, hold on." Mikoto had no need to play the character, no one saw her. She pushed her way through the sea of bodies taking up the area of the gym, and after wading through her classmates for a while she finally got to the punch. Grabbing on of the cups next to her and filling it, Mikoto was careful on her way back to Shokuhou, as spilling any would only irritate her further. She could see Shokuhou waiting exactly where she'd been left, and Mikoto reached her, handing her the cup.

"Thank you." Shokuhou said, taking the cup from Mikoto and taking a sip. Mikoto watched the girl make a face.

"What?" Mikoto asked. Shokuhou stared at the liquid in her cup for a second or two before she shrugged.

"Nothing, it's taste was stronger than I was expecting." She excused, drinking the rest of her drink. She kept a grip on the cup as she crossed her arms, looking around nervously. "This is going way to well."

"Were you expecting it to fail miserably?" Mikoto asked.

"Sort of, yeah." She agreed, rubbing her forehead. "Especially after we got Worst and Kamijou in on it. I mean really, with his luck, I'm surprised we've made it this far." Mikoto nodded and looked around, spotting her clone and the idiot through the crowd. Both looked on edge, Worst especially, but nonetheless okay.

"I can't disagree with that." She said.

That was when the slow music started.

* * *

Worst was dealing with a lot of angry emotions flowing in from the network, the last thing she needed was people coming to her left and right and asking if Kamijou was her date. She'd been as kind as absolutely possible to the first few, but time after time she was approached it was only making it worse.

"Are you okay?" Kamijou asked weakly as Worst rubbed her forehead.

"What the hell do you think?" Worst hissed. "Does Misaka look okay you idiot?"

"You don't, that's why I asked." Worst sighed and rubbed her throbbing temples as the clones anger spiked from the concern Kamijou showed. "What is it? Is the music too loud or something?"

"Stop it!" Worst shouted. "Stop being nice!"

"Huh?" Worst growled and fought through the onslaught of negativity.

"The network feeds Misaka negative emotion." She hissed. "The nicer you are, the angrier the other clones get. As much as Misaka likes making people feel terrible, this is going to overload on Misaka before long. Just stop it." Kamijou made an o with his mouth before he nodded, silencing himself. "God..." Just as Worst turned to try and shut out the anger, it happened.

The upbeat pop tune turned into a slow one.

 _Damn it._

Worst watched as the single people left the dance floor for the sidelines as those with dates began to dance together. Kamijou coughed awkwardly, and Worst felt another anger surge coming.

"You have to be kidding Misaka..." Worst whispered.

"We'll look like idiots in a minute." Kamijou murmured to her, softly grabbing her hand. "Come on." Worst was dragged onto the dance floor beside the original and her devious roommate who was the cause of Worst's terrible headache, who watched them apologetically.

"You okay Worst?" The Original asked. Worst shook her head weakly.

"The network is really mad with Misaka." Worst hissed, rubbing her head.

"We better start dancing." Kamijou added as more single people dispersed for the couples. "We're going to stand out." Shokuhou nodded, and grabbed The Originals arms, forcing her into a dancing position, one arm around her waist and the other hand intertwined with hers. The pair made it to the edge of the dance floor, and Worst realized it was their turn.

Why the hell did she agree to this in the first place?

Worst stayed rigid as Kamijou did his best to set up the dance. She mimicked his steps to prevent a situation that would anger the other clones even more. Worst, up until this very situation, had never seen herself in a position where she'd be trying to not anger other people, but here she was, doing just that.

On top of that, Worst knew for a fact this feeling was someone glaring holes into her back. She didn't know who it was, but whoever they were would get a face full of electricity if she caught them. She looked around at the people to try and discern who it had been staring at her, but no one stood out at particularly suspicious in that regard.

Worst payed for her actions dearly, as she felt herself step on Kamijou's foot as he tried to move. This caused her to fall forward, right into his chest. He managed to regain his own composure to prevent them from falling over, but Worst felt the networks anger explode. She jerked back angrily, flailing around uselessly. Her hand connected with Kamijou's shirt, and she grabbed it.

* * *

Kuroko had kept her eyes glued to Misaka once the slow music started. The ape dragged her over to Shokuhou and her date, and they exchanged some words. For some reason Kuroko felt compelled to watch Shokuhou with her date, but stopped herself.

"Why the hell should I care what she does anyway?" Kuroko asked aloud. "She can do whatever she wants..." Kuroko kept her eyes on the ape and Misaka, who weren't all that far from Shokuhou to begin with, and watched them begin to dance. Of course the whole touching part annoyed her, but nothing that was really off limits came to mind as she watched them.

 _Maybe I was worried about nothing..._

"Gah!" Kuroko was about to jump off the rafters and leave when she heard the ape yell out in surprise. She turned back to where they had been.

The ape was on top of Misaka, their faces mere inches from each others. It was an accident, that much was clear.

At least she thought so until she realized her Onee-sama's eyes were closed.

She felt her anger spike as the 'accidental' position did not change, both of them just staring at each other. _What the hell does that ape think he's doing to Onee-sama?!_ She watched as the ape rolled off of her and she stood immediately, storming away.

Kuroko gave chase, of course.

* * *

As soon as she hit the ground and realized how close Kamijou had come to her, the networks anger spiked to the point where Worst could no longer keep her eyes open. She writhed on the ground underneath Kamijou as he stared at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"Far from it, get off of Misaka!" Worst hissed, clutching her temples.

"Is it the network?"

"Yes, and they're going to kill Misaka if you don't get off of her!" Kamijou dutifully rolled off and Worst sprang to her feet, running away as the slow song ended and the pop music started up again. She fought her way through the crowd angrily, feeling the pain subside the farther away from him she got. She was at the punch bowl when she finally stopped and upon seeing the gigantic bowl of liquid, realized she was thirsty. Getting herself a cup and filling it, Worst took a small sip and stared at her cup in confusion.

 _Oh, right._

She'd forgotten that Accelerator had come to taint the drinks with liquor. She ha no intention of getting drunk, that would only make the situation even more intolerable.

"Trouble Worst?" A sweet voice asked. Worst turned to find the Originals roommate, Shoku-something, watching her with a small smile.

"This is your fault, damn you." Worst growled in response.

"How was it my fault you forgot to take into account how much anger would be coming your way?" She shot back. "In any case, your help has been incredibly useful to me, so you have my thanks."

"Yeah, whatever." Worst muttered. "Like your thanks means anything to me." Worst felt another chill go down her spine, the same one she'd been getting all night. "And thanks to you, everyone is watching me."

"Are they?" The blonde asked, looking around. I see nobody looking.

"Misaka doesn't know, it's just feels like someone's watching." Worst saw a flicker of realization cross the blonde's face, but it was quickly masked by the tense calm from before.

"That's the feeling all 'Level 5's' get I suppose. People do think you're Misaka-san." Worst knew the girl was just saying that because she didn't want to say the truth, which irritated her to no end. She neglected to pursue it, however, as she watched Shokuhou take a cup of the tainted drink, which made her grin maliciously. "In any case, get back to Kamijou-san quickly, he is your date." The blonde finished her drink, got another one, and started to walk away. Worst snickered.

"Got it." She said, watching the girls retreating back. "You make sure to have fun...hehehe..." She said, chuckling under her breath.

* * *

Of course, how had Misaki not seen it before? She'd felt the same feeling of watching eyes, but only when Worst shared her thoughts on the feeling did she even consider what it might have been.

 _Now, if I were Shirai, where would I hide?_

Somewhere in the crowd seemed like the most reasonable response, but Misaki ruled that out. Shirai didn't have the looks to hide herself among high school students effectively, so that was a no. Shokuhou paused to drink from the cup in her hand, the bitter drink chilling her throat.

 _She probably wants to keep an eye on Misaka-san, or Worst in this case. So where would she be doing it from?_

Misaki clicked her tongue and looked up, towards the rafters. She scanned her eyes across them until she spotted exactly what she was looking for. Shirai Kuroko was crouched up on the rafters, eyes completely focused on Worst. Rolling her eyes at finding the teleporter, Misaki weighed her options. One, she could expose Shirai and get her in trouble. Two, she could ignore it and hope everything goes smoothly regardless.

Or three, she have a little fun with the younger girl.

Misaki knew her choice was fairly obvious. The question was, however, how? She made her way back to Misaka, who had moved from the dance floor to a table in the corner. Sitting down across from her and finishing her third drink, Misaki sighed.

"Something the matter?"

"A little complication." Misaki replied without thinking. That would undoubtedly spike Misaka's curiosity. "Worst is in a lot of pain dealing with all that hate from the network, so she's having trouble being near Kamijou-san."

"Oh." Misaka replied, leaning back. "That sucks."

"Yeah. Besides that, this is going waaaay to well. I just get the feeling something is going to happen." Misaki tried to not grin at these words. What would happen would no doubt be caused by herself. And it would involve the creeping teleporter above them. Again however, what would it be?

"People are looking." Misaka warned suddenly. "What do you want to do?" Misaki looked up to see that this was true. Some people, mostly guys, were looking at them and whispering with their friends. Misaki grinned as she stood and walked in front of Misaka.

"Come oooonnnn Takayama-san, I want to dance!" Misaki shouted. "Come with me!"

"Do I have to?" Misaka asked in her deep cover tone.

"Of course you do!"

"I'll pass."

"..." Misaki thought over her options before she grinned. She let go of Misaka's arm and turned around, sitting down in her lap with a put on her face.

"Hey hey, what the hell?" Misaka whispered.

"Dance with me!" Misaki complained, leaning backwards and crushing Misaka against the wall and her body. "Or I won't move!"

"...Are you being serious right now?" Misaka demanded lowly.

"Absolutely." Misaki replied with a wink over her shoulder. "I told you this would happen."

"All this for my essay being written." Misaka muttered, deflating Misaki's mood a little bit. She didn't want to write tat any more than Misaka did, but it had been the only way to get her to agree. "get off of me and let's go." Misaki grinned childishly for effect and got up, dragging Misaka onto the dance floor and right beneath Shirai. Very little thought went into her movements, all she was thinking about was how she was going to get Shirai. Misaki grinned as she thought of something.

 _Ooh man, I'm rotten to the core._

* * *

Kuroko had not allowed her gaze to leave Misaka and the ape since they had reunited, and could tell the atmosphere between them had turned awkward. That did not stop them from being far to close to one another, which tested Kuroko's patience.

 _my my Shirai, I do believe you aren't supposed to be here._

Kuroko jumped as a foreign voice entered her head, but chuckled after a moment.

"So you found me Shokuhou?" She whispered back, earning an affirmative sound. "How'd you find me?"

 _Misaka-san said something about feeling a familiar chill. All I had to do was look up._ Kuroko took this moment to look below her and noticed the blonde with her date. After a moment or two, Shokuhou's gaze drifted up and met Kuroko's briefly before returned to her date.

"So? What of it?" Kuroko demanded. "You must know why I came here."

 _Yes yes. Something something 'Onee-sama's chastity' something something 'she's mine'. I get your deal._

"Good, don't interfere."

 _Oh my dear Shirai, I wouldn't dream of it! I actually wanted to tell you something important._

"What could you possibly need to tell me?"

 _Well if you do not value Misaka-san's innocence as much as you claim too..._

"What?!" Kuroko asked with surprise, hearing a snicker from Shokuhou.

 _As I thought, you do want to know._

"Of course I do! Tell me this instant!"

 _Not now. Meet me by the drinks, I'll tell you there._

"Tell me now damn it!"

 _Do you want to know or not?_ Kuroko growled at these words. Shokuhou had her cornered. She wanted to know, but also wanted to know now. After a moment on silent contemplation, she sighed.

"Fine, have it your way. I'll teleport down when you get there."

 _See, I knew you could play nice. I'll see you there._ the voice disappeared, and Kuroko sighed. She knew Shokuhou was probably just messing with her, but this was a threat she could not ignore. Even if Shokuhou was trying to play her like a fool, she had no choice but to take the bait.

For Onee-sama

 **It feels like a shitty chapter, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's get twelve so we can hit 200!**


	20. Drunken Issues

**This story has twenty chapters already? Damn, time flies.**

 **Also I'd like to take this time to apologize. I really need to keep up with the updates but life tends to get in my way.**

 **Enjoy!**

Misaki knew just how to get rid of Kuroko, and have some fun to boot. The teleporter was surely not stupid enough to believe Misaki from the get go, but with a little manipulation causing the teleporter to see exactly what Misaki wanted her too it would be easy.

First off, she'd need to take away her concentration on Misaka's image. She wasn't that much strength at the moment for that, but she still needed it. The more manly image of her roommate faded, leaving her scrawnier and less impressive. She was currently skulking in the corner though, so that didn't matter. After she'd done that, Misaki made her way slowly to the drinks, keeping her eyes on Kamijou and Worst. There was a reason for this as well. Once she was done scanning the pair, Misaki smiled.

Show time.

She made it to the refreshments and leaned against the table, filling a cup for herself.

"You can stop hiding, Shirai." She said aloud, no one nearby hearing her. Or, so she thought until the teleporter appeared on the other side of the table.

"Hurry up and tell me." Shirai hissed. Misaki giggled.

"Must you be so rude?" She asked. "After all, I'm worried too."

"Don't act like you're her friend." Shirai growled, making Misaki smile even wider. Sure, Misaki considered Misaka an acquaintance at best. Shirai didn't need to know that though. "I know you aren't, that isn't you."

"Whatever you say~" Misaki sang, emptying her cup and returning her attention to Shirai. "Now, let's get down to business."

"Yes, let's" Shirai agreed. "What is it you meant by her innocence? What's going to happen?" Misaki shrugged, crossing her arms.

"I don't really know." She replied vaguely. "She told me very little. What she did tell me, though, is that she was going to sneak away with Kamijou-san at some point. Other than that, she wouldn't say a word." Shirai made a face at this. Meanwhile, Misaki waited.

"And how do I know you're telling me the truth?" Shirai asked, just as Misaki predicted she would. Despite the disdain Misaki had for Shirai, she knew the girl was smart.

"What reason would I have to lie?" Misaki asked innocently.

"Oh I don't know, to have some fun? Mess with me? Try and get between Onee-sama and I by not telling the whole story of why I get so furious with you and making me the culprit?" Misaki shrugged as she pretended to contemplate these words, refilling her glass and sipping the drink.

"All of those points are completely true." Misaki agreed. "I would do that. However..." Misaki deadpanned at Shirai. "Would it not make more sense for me to spur Misaka-san on in this regard and watch you scream in protest as she seals the deal on a boyfriend? I tell you this because I, like you, are concerned. Now, Shirai, what will you do?" Shirai's frown deepened as she stared at Misaki, who only stared right back. After a moment, Shirai sighed.

"Fine, I'll keep my eyes on her." She said, and Misaki nodded. Finishing yet another glass, Misaki waved to Shirai.

"Well, it's been nice seeing you Shirai, but I must get back to my date."

"Huh? Oh, whatever..." Misaki smiled to herself as she disappeared into the crowd, turning and seeing Shirai go back up to the rafters and above Kamijou and Worst. Chuckling, Misaki pushed through the crowd until she was close enough to see both parties.

 _Now, all I have to do is sub out my made up Worst and Kamijou-san for the real one, and Shirai's done._

Concentrating as hard as she could despite the loud music playing around her, Misaki carefully weaved her illusion so that it's movements matched Worst's and Kamijou's, making sure that Shirai would not notice the sub out. Once she was sure that her illusion was flawless, she pointed her remote at the gym door and clicked a few buttons. At her command, Worst whispered something to Kamijou, who smiled, and she began pulling him towards the door. Misaki grinned as she heard the faint sound of teleportation from above.

 _I suppose I should go and watch the show, huh?_

* * *

Kuroko didn't want to believe Shokuhou's possible lies, but as she watched Misaka pull Kamijou by the arm out the door and down the hall, her rapidly increasing heart beat reminded her this was no time to place faith in Shokuhou's words. Whether or not the blonde was concerned or not, this had to stop. As she followed the pair, Kuroko became painfully aware of Misaka's giggling and Kamijou's chuckling, which did nothing to sooth her. the two escaped out into the courtyard, and Kuroko waited behind the wall for a moment, waiting with baited breath.

"What are we doing?" Kamijou's confused yet playful voice asked. Misaka giggled.

"Well, I can think of a few things." Her equally playful voice answered. Kuroko cursed under her breath and teleported behind a nearby bench, which gave her a better view of the pair. Not only did she note how close the two of them were, but the two of them were just staring into each others eyes. This was a recipe for disaster at this point.

"Well, what are they?" Kamijou asked, grinning smugly. Kuroko tried to control the growl attempting to escape her. Misaka smiled and leaned closer to him. She whispered something in his ear, and Kuroko saw his eyes widen. She could only imagine, no matter how horrifying it was, just what she must have said. Kamijou smirked at her words.

"If that's all, I think I can help with that."

"Caaaan you now?" Misaka asked, tracing a finer down his chest. "Care to show me then?" After another heated stare, Kuroko saw it.

Both moved closer to each other.

Her stomach spun violently as the two got closer and closer. Right before their lips made contact, Kuroko ducked behind the bench. She couldn't bring herself to watch that. She sat there in stunned silence, hands over her mouth to prevent a scream of surprise.

Then she heard the moaning.

Kuroko's eye's widened as the sounds intensified. Her stomach churned like the open ocean in a storm, and her heart beat was going at least triple what was normal. The two of them got even louder, and Kuroko felt her had spinning.

 _Onee-sama..._

After a few more pained seconds of listening, Kuroko felt her head spinning violently. It took only a few more moments for head head to hit the ground as she lost consciousness.

* * *

Misaki burst out laughing as her illusion faded. She managed to get into the courtyard before she collapsed onto the bench Shirai had been hiding behind, laughing harder then she ever had before.

"O-Oh...Oh my...Oh my God!" She shrieked through her laughter. "I-I can't believe...You f-fainted! Bwahahahahaha!" She grabbed her stomach as her gut tightened from all the laughter, falling to the side and tears falling from her eyes. "I-I wish I'd recorded that! Golden reaction, Shirai!" After laughing for a few more seconds, Misaki managed to calm down a bit and look over the back of the bench, looking at the teleporters unconscious form. She frowned as her chest tightened.

"Maybe I took that too far." She mumbled to herself. "I probably could've done without making her faint." At the mere memory of the fainting, Misaki chuckled, making her stomach hurt. Sighing and shaking her head, Misaki got up and went behind the bench. After stretching, she bent down and picked the teleporter up. Walking towards the exit of the Nagatenjouki grounds and placing Shirai down on a bench outside, Misaki sighed from the exertion.

"You weigh more than you look." She commented, staring at the shocked expression burned into the girls face. "I suppose I should get rid of those memories, huh? Even I'm not into being that cruel..." Misaki dug through her bag to get her remote, but as she did, she felt her phone vibrating. Picking it up, she turned it on to find a text from Misaka.

 _Misaka: Get back here! People are asking where you went!_

Misaki cursed and shoved the device back in her bag, turning to go back inside. As she did, her head began to spin.

"Damn," Misaki murmured, leaning against the wall of the school. "I have to control myself when I laugh that hard...My head is spinning for God sake..."

* * *

Mikoto purposely gave off an angry aura as she waited for Shokuhou to return, which was taking far longer than it should have been.

"Where the hell did she go anyway?" Mikoto muttered to herself. "Like there's anything she should be doing right now." Closing her eyes and blocking out the noise, Mikoto only opened them when she felt a tap on her wrist. Once she opened her eyes, a glass full of punch was sitting in front of her on the table.

"I got you a drink." Looking over at the previously empty seat, Mikoto saw Shokuhou sipping her drink, smiling in her direction.

"Thanks, I guess." Mikoto said, shifting and bringing the cup closer to her. "Where did you go? This was your own idea and you're not even around to help me with it."

"I was helping Worst." Shokuhou replied. "She's not doing much better, but..." Shokuhou shrugged. "What can you do?" Mikoto nodded and didn't say anything else. She brought the cup up to her lips, and drank it. She furrowed her brow in confusion and lowered the glass, staring at it.

"That's really strong." She commented, swirling the liquid around with a small wrist movement.

"I know right?" Shokuhou replied, smiling. "It's good though."

"I guess..." Mikoto replied. She brought the cup back up to her mouth and drank more of it.

 _I bet you're a riot when you're wasted, third-rate._

Mikoto almost spat her drink out when Accelerator's voice echoed in her head. She stared down at the drink in her hand in bewilderment before she slowly put it down.

She then turned and slapped the cup out of Shokuhou's hands, sending the object to the ground and shattering it.

"Hey!" Shokuhou shouted in protest. "I was drinking that!" Mikoto stood and grabbed Shokuhou by her bare shoulders, making her stand.

"How much punch have you had tonight?" She asked lowly.

"Eh?"

"Answer me!" Mikoto tightened her grip on Shokuhou, who shrugged.

"I don't know!" She replied " A-A few, I guess? At least five." Cursing under her breath, Mikoto sat the blonde back down. "What? What's wrong?"

"You stay here." Mikoto instructed. "Don't you dare leave, got it?" Shokuhou giggled and sat back.

"Aw, why?" She asked, a gleam in her already starry eyes that Mikoto didn't like. "Are you worried I'll get lost? You're so thoughtful Misaka-san."

"Yeah, yeah...Just stay here." Shokuhou nodded, and Mikoto stormed away, pushing her way past people and looking around for Touma. The last thing she needed was for a lot of people to get drunk. Just as she shoved someone out of the way, someone slammed into her.

"Get out of the...!" Mikoto started, looking up and spotting Worst standing there. "W-Worst?"

"I can handle this!" Worst shouted, jabbing her thumb behind her. "He's your problem now!"

"...What?" Worst crossed her arms angrily.

"Tell that idiot once he sobers up Misaka is going to put a nail between his eyes." Worst hissed, storming away.

"S-Sobers up?" Mikoto murmured. "...Oh no." Walking in the direction Worst had stormed away from, she soon found Touma.

Doubled over a table, however.

Also surrounded by girls.

"Damn it" Mikoto muttered, pushing past some girls. "Hey, idiot! Wake up!" She shouted, pushing his shoulder roughly. After a groan, Touma lifted his head and lazily brought it in Mikoto's direction.

"Heeeyyyyy." he greeted with a smile.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mikoto hissed. "Get up!" Touma chuckled and slowly lowered his head.

"Who the hell is this guy?" A girl around the table asked.

"He's Shokuhou-chan's date. Kind of an asshole, honestly." Mikoto ignored the gossip going on around her and grabbed Touma by his arm, hoisting him to his feet.

"How much did you have to drink?" She demanded. He rolled his eyes.

"I don't know." he replied. "All I know is that I want to dance." He tried to walk past Mikoto, who halted his advance.

"You..." She tried, looking for words. "I...I can't even think of what to say."

"You wanna dance?"He asked her in a slur, testing her temper. "C'mon, let's go." he tried to pull her along, but Mikoto held her ground as her temper spiked.

"You insufferable...!" Mikoto whirled and prepared to zap the life from Touma, but before she could, the lights turned on all at once, blinding her. Once she regained her vision, she saw the Headmaster standing on the stage, looking out over the students.

"Attention everyone!" He called. "I have been informed that there is alcohol circulating through this dance. As of now, this dance is over thanks to that. I'm going to have to ask you all to return to your dorms now." The student body got into an uproar at this, but the Headmaster held his ground. "The longer you all stand around and complain, the greater the risk the next dance will be canceled as well. Go on, get going!" People, both drunk and sober, made there way towards the doors as directed by teachers.

Mikoto needed to find Shokuhou.

Pushing her way away from Touma, who was once again flocked by girls, she soon found Shokuhou slumped in the exact seat Mikoto left her in, a strange glaze over her eyes. Once Mikoto got close, the blonde looked over and smiled.

"Welcome back~" She sang. Mikoto winced as Shokuhou held her arms up. "Give me a hug, roomie." Rolling her eyes at drunk Shokuhou, she grabbed the blonde's arms and pulled her to her feet.

"Can you stand?" She asked, and the blonde giggled.

"Of course I can." Shokuhou replied, wobbling a bit. "Look, I'm doing it! Are you proud, Misaka-san?" Shokuhou started to fall over, and Mikoto quickly stopped that from happening. Sighing, she slung one of her arms around her neck and walked the girl towards the exit, the horrid smell of alcohol coming from Shokuhou's mouth.

"You are never...drinking again..." Mikoto hissed as she attempted to steady the both of them. Shokuhou sniffled.

"You're...you're mad at me..." Mikoto stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned her head to not only see Shokuhou's whimpering pathetically, but real tears ready to fall. "Misaka-san is mad at me..." The tears started to fall, and Misaka panicked.

"Hey hey, I'm not mad at you...Just concerned is all."

"Oh?"

"Yeah..." After a moment, the crying turned to drunk giggles.

"Yay! I thought you were mad at me!" Shokuhou kept on giggling as Mikoto helped her walk out of the school and towards the dorms, drunk Shokuhou making a huge scene. "Hey, Misaka-san."

"Yeah?" Mikoto asked.

"I-I got something to tell you, alright?"

"Okay."

"I like Kamijou-san too." Mikoto pretended to act surprised.

"Oh nooo, how could you?" She drawled. Shokuhou's head lolled to the side uselessly.

"But thanks to his inability to remember me, I don't stand a chance. Not like you, anyway." Mikoto blushed at this and turned her head to stare at Shokuhou.

"I-I don't either." She replied. Shokuhou made a face.

"What do you..." Shokuhou was cut off by a drunken burp as they reached the elevator. "What do you mean? From where I stand, you definitely have a chance."

"You're just not thinking straightly." Mikoto replied, shrugging these words off. "You just need to sober up."

"If you say sooooooo~" Shokuhou replied. The elevator stopped on there floor, and the two slowly made there way there. Once at there door, Mikoto hacked the mechanism and opened the door, slamming it behind them. Once they were inside, it was a short walk to Shokuhou's room. Mikoto slowly put the blonde down on her bed and sighed, cracking her back.

"There, you need to sleep." Mikoto instructed Shokuhou.

"Will you stay with me?"

"Wha...No."

"Ahhhh, why not?"

"Because you're a big girl who can sleep by herself." Mikoto quickly ended this conversation, much to her own satisfaction. Turning to leave the room, Mikoto stopped as a pillow hit her back.

"What?" Mikoto asked, turning her head slightly to look at Shokuhou.

"C'mere, I have to tell you something important?"

"Can it wait?"

"No! I need to tell you now!" Sighing, Mikoto walked back and stood there, waiting. "Sit down." Shokuhou said with a frown, patting her bed. Playing along and sitting down, Mikoto continued to wait.

"What did you nee..." Mikoto was cut off as she was practically tackled from behind. Shokuhou was hugging her from behind, and Mikoto struggled to understand why. "Why are you hugging me?" She demanded.

"Because!" Shokuhou replied happily. "I wanted to hug my best friend!"

...

...

"...Eh?" Mikoto asked, the girls head resting on her shoulder. "Me? Your best friend? As if."

"Why don't you believe me?" Shokuhou asked with a pout.

"No offense Shokuhou-san, but you and I don't exactly get along like that." She answered. "The only reason we get along like this is because we had no choice." Shokuhou, while not releasing her grip in the slightest, buried her face in Mikoto's back. She slurred out an incoherent answer, Mikoto unable to decipher her words through the slur and the fabric covering her mouth. "Say again?" She asked. Shokuhou moved only slightly to free her mouth.

"I said there's a reason." The girl slurred. "The...The reason is you-you're one of the only people I can't brainwash. I-I-I'm forced to be myself with you, and yet you still put up with me." It may have been from the force Shokuhou was using to hug Mikoto's lower body, but she felt the air leave her lungs all at once. "I know I don't act like I care, but I-I really do feel like you're my real friend."

"...Oh yeah...?" Mikoto asked. Silence fell over the pair, Mikoto forced into deep thought. After a few minutes, Shokuhou's grip slackened. Looking over her shoulder, Mikoto saw that her roommate had fallen asleep. Sighing and standing up, Mikoto observed her roommate for a moment before turning to leave and go to her own room. She didn't even bother to get out of the disguise she'd worn that night, just collapsing into bed.

 _"I really do feel like you're my real friend."_

 _...I mean, I guess she's not wrong, even if she was wasted._

 **It may seem like an abrupt ending, but that's really all there is too it. I also realize drunk Touma may have been a bit underwhelming, but he's not the main problem. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	21. The Aftermath

**Last chapter had a pretty big development in a sense, wouldn't you agree? Also sorry for the wait, other two stories have had some big developments lately.**

 **Enjoy!**

There were a lot of ways Mikoto envisioned spending her mornings. Having a cup of coffee, watching TV, and maybe going out for some fresh air.

She didn't ever see herself holding her roommates hair while she threw up.

Mikoto sighed as Shokuhou gagged again, the wretched sound making the not hung over girl feel a little sick.

"Are you done yet?" Mikoto asked. "My arms getting tired."

"Shut up." Shokuhou hissed, face in the toilet bowl. "This isn't the time for snarky comments." Rolling her eyes and shifting a bit to get more comfortable, Mikoto started to use her left arm to support her other one holding the blonde's hair.

"You really can't hold your liquor, can you?" Mikoto asked. Shokuhou turned her head slightly to glare at Mikoto with one eye.

"Shut up." She replied.

"I mean really Shokuhou-san, you didn't have that much."

"Stop making fun of me!" the blonde whined. "I'm in pain here!"

"And who's fault is that?!"

"Accelerator's!"

"Oh, right." Mikoto had temporarily forgotten just who's fault it was that everyone at the dance had gotten drunk and subsequently gotten in canceled early. In a way Mikoto felt grateful, he had gotten it canceled early and subsequently ended her torture.. On the other hand, he had tried to get her drunk. After listening to Shokuhou gag some more, Mikoto's arm felt like it was about to fall off. "Seriously, why do you have so much hair?!" Mikoto demanded, switching arms.

"Not all of us are tomboys, Misaka-san." Shokuhou quipped, face still in the toilet. "Short hair wouldn't suit me, anyway."

"Whatever you say..." After going quiet a little, Shokuhou slowly leaned back and sat against the tub, face pale.

"Ugh, I feel like I'm dying..." She moaned, rubbing her temples. Mikoto sat back as well and sighed.

"Accelerator must've put a whole lot of liquor in the punch." She theorized. "You really didn't have that much."

"I'm never drinking again, I swear..." Mikoto stood and cracked her back, a satisfying feeling after being crouched and sitting for so long.

"I need to get some fresh air, do you need anything?" Mikoto asked, turning to leave.

"Coffee." Shokuhou replied. "Maybe some painkillers."

"Alright. Try not to throw up all over everything, I'll be back soon."

"No promises." Shaking her head as she left, Mikoto opened the door into the sunlight and shut it again, still able to hear her roommate moaning from outside. Shokuhou wasn't the only one either. From what she could tell, a whole lot of people had gotten absolutely wasted the night before, as evidenced by the moaning and puking Mikoto could hear throughout the building. If one thing from the night before was certain, it was that Accelerator had certainly succeeded in getting everyone hammered.

Finally getting out of the grounds that reeked of puke, booze and regret, Mikoto enjoyed the much cleaner air of the rest of the city. First thing on her list was coffee, as apparently it could help with hangovers. Stopping by Joseph's to get some, Mikoto waited in the morning rush line to obtain it.

"Misaka-san!" Turning at the calling of her name, Mikoto saw Uiharu and Saten approaching.

"Oh, hey guys." She said. Once the two girls reached them, Saten started elbowing her in the side.

"So?" The girl asked. "Did you enjoy yourself last night?" Mikoto had flashbacks to the previous night, and involuntarily shuddered. Never again, not even for someone else doing her homework.

"Uh, yeah...Sure." Mikoto replied halfheartedly, trying to block out all the staring she remembered going through. "it was a swell time."

"Oh I'm sure!" Saten said with a sneaky smile.

"Where's Shokuhou-san?" Uiharu asked.

"Ah..." Mikoto said, trying to imagine what part of their dorm the Level 5 was currently sprawled across and moaning for the sweet release of death. "She was throwing up this morning. She seems sick."

"Oh, she's sick too?" Saten asked. Mikoto raised an eyebrow at this.

"Too?" She asked. "Who else is sick?"

"Shirai-san is bedridden today."Uiharu answered. "She said she could barely move, let alone get to the office." Mikoto frowned at this. What had gotten Kuroko so sick.

"Maybe the flu's going around." Saten said. "A weird time for it to, but it's possible right?"

"I guess..." Mikoto said quietly, thinking about it herself. Just what was wrong with Kuroko? Once she had ordered and received her coffee, Mikoto said goodbye to Saten and Uiharu to return to Shokuhou with her drink. She would've stayed to talk with her friends longer, but she seriously didn't want to make Shokuhou wait. The blonde got testy under the simplest of circumstances, Mikoto did not want to test her while she was hungover. That was a grenade Mikoto was not willing to pull the pin from. She stopped by the pharmacy to also get some painkillers, and decided it was time to go home.

Once again having to pass through the grounds that smelled like absolute shit, Mikoto got to her floor.

She paused when she heard the groaning. Rolling her eyes and walking towards her door, the groaning intensified.

 _You'd think she was dying...Queen of Tokiwadai to Queen of Overreacting._

Sighing and hacking the door open, Mikoto walked inside to find, for one reason or another, Shokuhou in her underwear lying on the floor face down.

"Why?" Was all Mikoto asked. Shokuhou looked up with a pained expression.

"Well," She replied. "My headache got worse, so I freaked out a bit and landed on the floor. The cold floor helped a bit, so I stayed here."

"And why the hell are you in your underwear?"

"I wanted to be."

"Of course." Shaking her head in defeat and placing the extra coffee on the counter, Mikoto watched Shokuhou crawl towards her weakly before standing and taking the coffee. The blonde downed almost the whole cup in one go and sighed, rubbing her temples.

"I hate everything." She groaned.

"I'm sure." Mikoto agreed. "Don't complain forever, you still need to do our essays." With a thump, Mikoto turned to find her roommate collapsed on the couch, her cup on the table next to her.

"Do I seriously have to write yours too?!" She asked. "I mean for God sake, I probably won't even be able to write my own!"

"You promised." Mikoto fired back. "I dressed up as a man for that whole night and you said you'd do my essay. And besides, you either come through for me here or you end up doing all my homework over summer. Make your choice." Grumbling what Mikoto assumed was a string of insults, Shokuhou sat up, downed the rest of her coffee, and glared at Mikoto.

"I hate you." Mikoto laughed at this.

"I'm sure you..."

 _"I really do feel like you're my real friend."_

Mikoto paused as drunk Shokuhou's words came back to her. She slowly looked over at the blonde as she downed a painkiller with a glass of water. Mikoto had no evidence that the blonde meant what she said, being drunk on top of all of that.

However, the sincerity she'd slurred out made Mikoto doubt herself.

"What?" Mikoto snapped out of it and realized she'd been staring at her roommate, who looked both confused and angry. "Why the hell are you staring at me?"

"...No reason." Mikoto replied, shifting her gaze to the wall. "Just wondering why you insist on standing around in your underwear."

"Because for some reason it bothers you so much." She quipped, rubbing her temples again. "I mean really, you act as if you've never seen a female body before."

"Of course I have." Mikoto replied. "I just find it odd."

"Find it whatever you think." Shokuhou said flatly. "I don't care." Rolling her eyes and taking to her room before Shokuhou started complaining some more, Mikoto shut the door behind her with a sigh. Sometimes, Shokuhou's behavior tired her out far more than usual.

"She's just..." Mikoto struggled to find a word to use before she gave up, not able to find a fitting way of saying it. As she walked farther into her room, a though occurred to her. "I wonder if Kuroko is okay..." Mikoto felt sort of bad for Kuroko. She knew she had perfectly good reasons, but she felt like she was being rude to her former roommate as of late. Taking out her phone, Mikoto scrolled down to Kuroko's number and called it, raising it to her ear and waiting as it rang.

 _"...Hello?"_

"Hey Kuroko, it's me."

 _"Gah!"_ Mikoto jumped as Kuroko shouted in surprise. _O-O-O-Onee-sama! W-W-What are you doing c-calling me?!"_

"I heard you weren't doing so hot." Mikoto replied. "I called to check on you. So, are you alright?"

 _"O-Oh, uh...Y-yeah, I'm alright."_ Kuroko did not sound the least bit okay, and it wasn't all that hard to tell. _"So, uh, do not worry yourself about my health, Onee-sama. I'll be fine."_

"Are you sure?"

 _"Yeah, positive. Is that all you needed?"_ Mikoto frowned at this. It wasn't like Kuroko to push her off like that. Usually the teleporter jumped at any chance to speak with her, but now Mikoto could tell Kuroko wanted nothing more but to end the call.

"I mean, yeah." She replied. "I just wanted to make sure."

 _"...I appreciate the sentiment, Onee-sama. But I'll be alright. Okay?"_

"Okay." Silence came over the connection, and Mikoto leaned back and forth on her feet as she tried to find something to say. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me, alright?"

 _"Alright."_ More silence, then, _"I should really sleep, Onee-sama. Despite what I say, I'm not really feeling all that good. Goodbye."_

"See ya." Kuroko hung up on her, and Mikoto brought the phone away from her ear to stare at it. She was extremely off put by the girls behavior, even when she was sick.

"I hope she's okay..." She murmured.

* * *

Mikoto had never sensed so much shame as she did that Monday. She could tell a lot of people were worrying about whether or not they'd done something stupid while they were drunk, and honestly Mikoto wanted to feel bad, but it was funny. Especially how she saw more than one person looking around quickly, seeing something or someone, and fleeing.

She had never been so happy that she'd not been included in something.

"And with that, our class for today is over." Mikoto heard Itagaki say. "And judging from how some of you have been acting,that is a godsend." This caused a few people to groan, but Accelerator chuckled. Mikoto turned in her seat to look at him.

"So that was your fault." She stated, making him stare at her.

"I don't know what you mean." He replied.

"You're the one who spiked the drinks, aren't you?" Accelerator rolled his eyes.

"Of course I was." he hissed. "I had literally no other reason for wanting to go to that dance, how stupid are you? I even told you outright."

"I was sort of busy with other things to worry about." Mikoto recalled, making Accelerator chuckle.

"Oh right." he said. "I totally forget you dressed up like a guy all night for you idiotic roommate. Why did you even do that anyway?"

"Don't ask me, I don't really have a solid answer for you." She replied. The bell rang, and almost the whole class save Mikoto, Accelerator and Shokuhou bolted to get away from other people. Accelerator sighed and stood slowly.

"As much as I love our talks third-rate, I'm getting the hell out of here. I hate Mondays."

"Whatever." She replied, getting up as well and meeting with Shokuhou at the door to the class. As they walked down the hall, Mikoto cast her glance over to Shokuhou, who as oppose to everyone else who'd gotten drunk, was holding her head high and not avoiding eye contact with anyone. I'm impressed," She said. "You're not hiding from everyone, Shokuhou-san."

"Well," Shokuhou replied. "I have absolutely no recollection of anything I might have done a few minutes prior to the booze kicking in, so I'm not sure if there's much to be embarrassed about. Did I do something?"

 _"I wanted to hug my best friend!"_

"...Nope," Mikoto said quietly, looking down at the floor. "Nothing at all..."

"Oh God, you paused." Shokuhou said with a panicked expression. "What did I do? Did I embarrass myself?"

 _"The...The reason is you-you're one of the only people I can't brainwash. I-I-I'm forced to be myself with you, and yet you still put up with me. I know I don't act like I care, but I-I really do feel like you're my real friend."_

"That's not what I'd call it, but..." Mikoto trailed off purposefully, trying to find a way to describe it. "Let's just say you said some stuff."

"...What did I say, exactly."

"Nothing important." Mikoto was going to bring it up, but she feared the answer she'd get. Would it be denial? Or an awkward acceptance of what Shokuhou had slurred out on accident? She didn't want to know. "No one but me heard it anyway."

"That makes it even worse, Misaka-san!" As Shokuhou started to groan and complain about what she might have said, Mikoto's phone started to buzz against her thigh. Taking it out and looking at the illuminated screen, she wondered why Uiharu was calling her.

"Hello?" She asked as she pushed the now panicked Shokuhou away from her.

 _"Hey Misaka-san, I wanted to ask a favor of you."_

"Anything, what's up?"

 _"Well, it's Shirai-san."_ Mikoto stiffened at these words. _"I haven't heard from her since Friday, and she won't answer her phone. I'm worried about her, so could you go and check on her? I know she'll talk to you."_

"I'm not so sure about that, Uiharu-san..."

 _"Huh? Did you say something?"_

"Oh, uh, I'll look into it." Mikoto said quickly. "I'll call you once I figure out what it is."

 _"Thanks. Talk to you later!"_ Saying goodbye to Uiharu, Mikoto hung up her phone and sighed.

"Who was that?" Shokuhou asked, pausing her performance to ask the question.

"Uiharu-san." Mikoto replied. "Apparently Kuroko hasn't spoken to anyone since Saturday, and she wants me to look up on her. Want to come?" Shokuhou snorted.

"As Shirai and I are clearly _very close friends,_ it pains me to say I don't really want to." Shokuhou replied. "I think I'll just go home and complain about what I might have said."

"If I come home and you're in nothing but your bra and panties..." Shokuhou giggled and took off away from Mikoto, towards the dorms.

"Guess you'll have to wait and see, Misaka-samaaaaaa!~" Mikoto groaned at the honorific used, stopping to rub the bridge of her nose.

"She's going to be naked when I get back, isn't she...?"

* * *

Mikoto only realized when she made it to Tokiwadai just how dangerous a venture inside was going to be. And that in turn only made her want to beg Shokuhou to come down and help her.

Mikoto was, well, a very popular person among the student population of Tokiwadai. Just about every student, both aspiring and currently attending, thought the absolute world of her, so she had to put on her best princess-esque smile and deal with what she was sure to get.

"Here we go..." Mikoto murmured. She'd spent the last month or so outside the ojou-sama lifestyle and in the one of a normal girl, so this was going to be difficult. "I hate this already..." Pushing the gate open, Mikoto walked inside the grounds with her head held high and a flawless smile on her face.

She was noticed practically immediately.

"Is that Misaka-sama?!" She heard one girl ask.

"What's she doing back here? A visit?"

"Must be, maybe to visit Shirai-san. After all, shes been really sick these past few days. Even her new roommate had to get a new room temporarily to avoid catching it." Hearing this, it worried Mikoto just how sick Kuroko really was. She'd sounded alright on Saturday, how bad had it gotten?

Ah! It's Misaka-sama!" A group of first-years squealed. "She's like, the _coolest_ level 5 out there!" Mikoto had to respectfully disagree. She was in league with Vector Control and Dark Matter, she was nothing. Not to mention whatever the hell Sogiita was capable of. She was probably one of the lamest, honestly.

Only ahead of Shokuhou.

Mikoto managed to make it to the dorms without all that much trouble, which surprised her. Although maybe her underclassmen were too nervous to approach her. She did often exude an air of authority unintentionally. So she was probably scaring off everyone without meaning too.

All the better, she hated getting unwanted attention like that.

Stepping inside the dorms, Mikoto walked up to the intercom system and found good old room 208 and buzzed it.

"Kuroko?" She asked. "Are you there?" Mikoto asked that as if the girl wouldn't be, but she gathered no response. "Hey come on Kuroko, it's me. I know you're sick, but..."

"My my, is that Misaka-san?" Mikoto's spine tingled and her blood ran cold. She slowly turned to find none other than the Tokiwadai Dorm Supervisor coming towards her. Compared to Nagatenjouki's Onoda, Mikoto could have nightmares about this Dorm Supervisor.

"H-Hey." Mikoto greeted, turning and using her fake smile. "H-How's it going."

"I'm alright. I barely recognized you in Nagatenjouki's uniform Misaka-san. it seems like you've been gone forever.

"It's been like two months..."

"I know, I know. I sort of miss the old days when you'd use your powers in the dorms and I snap Shirai's neck. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"I-I came to visit Kuroko." Mikoto replied. "Apparently she's really sick, so I came to see if she was okay." The Dorm Supervisor nodded.

"Ah yes, she has been feeling poorly lately. Maybe seeing you will do some good. Come with me." Mikoto followed the Dorm Supervisor through the halls towards Mikoto's old room, which Kuroko was no doubt still in. More students saw Mikoto on their way up, and upon one flash of Mikoto's practiced brilliant smile they giggled and ran off happily.

Too easy.

"Here we are." The two stopped in front of 208, and the Dorm Supervisor banged her fist on the door.

"Shirai! You have a visitor!"

"I told you I'm sick!" Kuroko shouted from inside. "I don't want any visitors in here!"

"But it's Misaka-san!"

"GAH!" A huge crash sounded from inside, making Mikoto flinch.

"Just see her." The Dorm Supervisor said, opening the door. Upon walking in, Mikoto was greeted by Kuroko lying flat on her face, which made her giggle.

"You alright?" She asked, and Kuroko laughed strangely.

"P-Peachy! Just fell!" Kuroko scrambled to recover as Mikoto walked in, looking around the small room.

"Damn," She said. "Living at Nagatenjouki's made me forget how small our dorm was." She smiled over at Kuroko, but the pale girl didn't meet her gaze. Mikoto sighed and sat down on her old bed, staring at Kuroko. "Are you really that sick?"

"Y-Yeah...But I'll recover."

"You sure? It might be serious."

"..."

"...Kuroko?" Mikoto could tell something was wrong.

"...Just please be careful, Onee-sama." Mikoto sat back and stared confusedly at Kuroko, who looked dead serious.

"Ha?"

"I said be careful." Kuroko replied, playing with the seams on her pillow. "At first I was really mad thinking about it...But I know what it means to you, so I won't do anything."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mikoto demanded, even more confused than before. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"...I-I saw you and the ape, Onee-sama." Mikoto made a face.

 _When did that idiot and I ever do something that would warrant a response like this?_

"Kuroko, I don't..."

"You don't need to lie to me, Onee-sama." Kuroko replied, smiling weakly. "it hurts to know, but I understand. You love him, not me."

"Eh?!"

"And after what I saw, it's painfully obvious as well, so..."

"W-W-What the hell are you talking about Kuroko?! A-Answer me before I zap you!" Mikoto was blushing furiously as she demanded an answer from Kuroko, who just chuckled.

"No need to deny it so forcefully, Onee-sama." She said quietly. "I saw you and him do it, after all."

"Do what?!" Kuroko made a face, which made her look just as confused as Mikoto felt.

"At the dance. Do you not remember making out with Kamijou-san in the courtyard?"

 **Hehehehe. I love making cliffhangers, but I know you guys hate them. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	22. The Truth Behind Friday Night

**After last chapter's little cliffhanger, you guys were dying to know what happens.**

 **Enjoy!**

"WHAT?!" Mikoto screeched, jumping to her feet as Kuroko uttered these words. "How the...?! When the...?! WHAT?!" Kuroko giggled.

"Sorry, I should've told you sooner." She said. "But I just wanted to make sure nothing happened."

"Wait wait wait wait a minute! Hold the hell on Kuroko! W-When did you see me making out with that idiot?!"

"Hm? Well, judging from what I've heard, just a bit before the dance ended." Kuroko frowned, "Listen Onee-sama, I'm not mad anymore. It's fine."

"It is NOT fine! I don't even...!" Mikoto grabbed at her head in confusion and swung it around. "Gah! What the hell happened that night?!"

"I'm not sure why you don't remember." Kuroko replied. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine..." Mikoto murmured. She calmed down and thought about it for a moment.

That idiot.

And her.

...Making out?

Mikoto felt dizzy at the mere thought, but she thought even harder. How could Kuroko have seen that?

..Worst.

WORST.

"...Well Kuroko." Mikoto said, growing calm outwardly. "I should go. I have some uh...stuff to take care of."

"What does that mean?" Kuroko asked curiously.

"Oh nothing~"

* * *

Touma hated supplementary lessons after school, he really did. He deserved it for missing so much school, but honestly, it wore down to much on his already defeated psyche.

"Well Kami-yan, hate to break it to you, but you did this to yourself." Tsuchimikado told him. "Always skipping class."

"Screw off." Touma replied, making his two friends laugh.

"He does get to spend more time with Komoe-sensei though." Aogami added. This seemed to anger the blue haired boy." Damn you Kami-yan, always getting all the girls..."

"I don't get all the girls." Touma countered. "I haven't even had a girlfriend."

"And since when as actual relationships ever mattered in that regard?" Aogami fired back. "Seriously Kami, every day it's a different..."

THERE YOU ARE!" Touma jumped, as did Aogami and Tsuchimikado. Looking towards the street in front of them, Touma's heart skipped a beat.

Most people said that when they saw someone they liked.

Touma said this because the third strongest Level 5 was currently yelling at him from the street, looking as pissed as ever.

"See?!" Aogami shouted, Tsuchimikado holding him back. "Every day!" Electricity crackled around her violently, and Touma could guarantee he'd never seen her so pissed.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO FRIDAY NIGHT?!" she roared in anger. Touma could only think of one response.

He turned tail and ran.

* * *

"Get back here!"

"Look, Misaka-san, whatever I did I'm sorry!"

"Sorry isn't good enough!" Turning the corner, Mikoto could see Touma just ahead of her, still running as fast as he could. There were too many people to try and Railgun him, sadly, and she was quickly losing ground on him. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Such misfortune!" Taking off after him, Mikoto soon realized he was running towards the safety of his dorm. Like that would save him. He turned into the grounds and sprinted up the stairs, Mikoto in hot pursuit. He got to his door and attempted to shut it behind him, but Mikoto managed to get her foot in the doorway and stop it.

"Open the door!" Mikoto shouted.

"I'm sorry!" he wailed.

"Open it!" Mikoto put all her weight behind her and pushed on the door, trying her hardest to open it. "if you don't open this door, I'm going to knock out your air conditioning!"

"Anything but that Misaka-san! Summers coming up!"

"Then open up!" After a few moments of clear internal struggle, Touma growled in defeat and the blockage on the other side disappeared, allowing Mikoto to enter. She stormed inside the small dorm and made right for Touma, who was cowering in the corner on his bed.

"L-listen Misaka-san, let's not do any drastic here." he tried to defuse her, but Mikoto was having none of it.

"How about we talk about you, you idiot?!" She asked angrily, and Touma flinched.

"I've got enemies!" He shouted. "They spread lies! Half the things you hear about me aren't true!"

"Shut up and listen!" Mikoto hollered. Taking a moment to calm down and compose herself, Mikoto put her hands on her hips. "So, care to tell me why Kuroko saw me and you making out Friday night?"

"What?" Touma asked in confusion, but the sparks silenced him.

"Don't ask me!" She yelled. "I have no idea what she's talking about!"

"Neither do I! I barely remember Friday night!"

"You better start remembering before I kill you!"

"I can't!"

"Than what use are you?!" Mikoto attempted to fry him, but he dodged her attack and landed on the floor at her feet.

"I honestly don't know!" he tried. "Why don't you ask Worst?! She might know!" Mikoto growled at this and leaned down in front of him, getting really close.

"Shut up and listen. If she says a damn word about her and you making out, you're a dead man." She saw in a low tone. "Even anything that suggests it, alright?"

"Y-Yea..."

"I said shut up. Now, why don't you write out a will or something? You may need it." Leaving Touma on his floor, Mikoto strode from his room to the entrance and left without another word. Once she got down to the street, she pulled out her phone, and dialed Last Order.

 _"Hello? Asks Misaka as Misaka answers her phone."_

"Last Order, where do you live?"

 _"Eh? Why? Asks Misaka as Misaka ponders the reason you want to know."_

"I can't visit?" This got an excited squeal from Last Order, and the hasty telling of an address and directions. Mikoto hung up and quickly started off in that direction, murderous amounts of electricity coming off of her.

* * *

 _Bang bang bang!_

Mikoto slammed her fist into the door she'd been told to knock on. She waited as muffled arguing ensued from inside, and then the door started to open.

"What?" Accelerator asked, opening the door all the way. "Oh God, you found out where I live, third-rate?"

"Where's the clone?" Mikoto asked angrily. Accelerator made a face.

"She's rolling around on the couch talking about visitors." Accelerator replied.

"The other one!"

"Oh." Accelerator sighed and turned his head inside the apartment. "Worst! Get the hell out here!"

"Screw off!" her muffled voice came back. Accelerator growled.

"Fine, I'll just come and get you!" After a moment of silence, a door burst open somewhere in the house, and Worst stormed towards the door.

"What?" Worst demanded, looking a little more pissed than usual.

"I'm going to get right to the point." Mikoto replied. "Did you make out with Touma on Friday?" Worst was silent for a long time, just staring at Mikoto.

"...What?" Worst asked lowly.

"You heard me. Did you or not?" Worst growled, and electricity crackled around her.

"Why the hell would Misaka make out with that idiot? Do you have any idea how much hate would flow in from the network?" Mikoto hadn't thought of that. "If Misaka had put her lips anywhere on that idiot, she'd be dead. And as you can see, Misaka is clearly still here, so no, Misaka didn't make out with that idiot. Anything else?"

"Ah...No." Mikoto replied. The door then slammed in her face, and she sighed in defeat. Leaving the apartment building and sitting down on a bench outside, Mikoto wracked her brain to try and figure out how Kuroko had seen such a thing. On one hand, Worst was right. If she'd kissed Touma, she'd have gone into a coma from the severe headaches caused by an influx of hate from the network. Touma didn't remember anything, so he was of no use to her. It was also impossible given the time frame Kuroko had mentioned of right before the dance ended that it had somehow been herself. She hadn't been drunk or anything, but at this point, anything was possible.

"Gah!" Mikoto roared, jumping to her feet as she freaked out a little. "What the hell happened?! What is somebody else saw us together?! This is terrible!" Mikoto freaked out for a bit before she landed back on the bench with a sigh, onlookers giving her confused looks. "I just don't get it..." And then, just like that, Mikoto had an idea, a perfectly plausible one, as well. Taking out her phone and dialing Kuroko, she listened intently into her friend picked up.

 _"Hello? Onee-sama?"_

"Hey Kuroko, just a quick question for you."

 _"Yes?"_

"You didn't have anything to drink on Friday night, did you?" Mikoto chuckled weakly. "Anything from the dance, anyway."

 _"Hm...I don't think so, no."_ And just like that, Mikoto's last idea was flushed down the toilet.

"Ugh!" Mikoto groaned. "I don't get it! How the hell did you see Touma and I together?! It doesn't make any sense!"

 _"Well I'm sorry Onee-sama, but I know what I saw. It was you and him alright."_

"But how?! Are you sure you didn't imagine it?!"

...

Mikoto nearly dropped her phone. Of course.

"Kuroko." Mikoto said, now sounding calm. "You didn't happen to speak to Shokuhou-san at all that night, did you?"

 _"Hm? Well, yeah I did. She was the one who told me you were going to do what you did."_

How the hell had Mikoto not seen it sooner? Kuroko saw what she saw because she _had_ imagined it.

Just not on purpose.

"I'll have to talk to you later, Kuroko." Mikoto said, sparks dancing around her as she theorized what to do to the blonde. "I have to go deal with something. Oh, one more thing though."

 _"Yes?"_

"You talked to Shokuhou-san and then saw Touma and I making out. Do the math." Mikoto then hung up, turned in the direction of Nagatenjouki, and stormed away.

* * *

Once Mikoto reached her door, her anger had reached the near irreversible. The longer she thought about the situation and what had happened, the angrier she got. She could hear the TV on inside, so she took a deep breath.

Upon opening the door, Mikoto saw the source of her stress sitting on the couch watching the TV she'd heard.

"Welcome back." Shokuhou said. Mikoto ignored this and walked up to the side of the couch, glaring at her roommate. After a few seconds, Shokuhou turned and noticed her stare. "Can I help you with something?" She asked.

"...What's your problem?" Mikoto demanded.

"...What?" Shokuhou asked. "What do you mean?"

"I know what you did!" Shokuhou winced as Mikoto raised her voice, but the confusion did not leave her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She replied. Mikoto didn't have time for this. A bolt of electricity left her and struck between Shokuhou's legs, who had moved just in time to avoid it. "What the hell, Misaka-san?!" Shokuhou asked angrily.

"Why did you do it?!" Mikoto shouted as Shokuhou now stood, pissed off.

"Do what?!" Shokuhou shouted back. "I don't know what you're yelling about!"

"What you did to Kuroko on Friday! She told me what she saw!"

"What did she see?!"

"Touma and I..." Mikoto faltered before she finished her sentence, heat rising to her face. "Touma and I together! I know you did it to her!" Shokuhou threw her hands up in exasperation at this.

"Um, I'm sorry, need I remind you I was drunk?!" Shokuhou shouted. "I don't remember what happened!"

"That was before it even kicked in!" Mikoto roared back, getting in the blonde's face. "You did it before you got really drunk!"

"Oh, because that makes it totally my fault, right?!" Shokuhou blonde pushed Mikoto back. "Get the hell out of my face, would you?! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"You made one of my friends think I was making out with a guy!" Mikoto shouted back. "There's everything wrong with that!"

"Not under our agreement!" Mikoto gaped and stood back, and Shokuhou grinned. "Yeah, you remember now, don't you? The agreement you made me sign? What was that clause on the back, I wonder?"

"...The...The..."

"The Kuroko Clause, was it? The clause that renders all other rules, including the one about using my ability on your friends, null and void?" There it was. That smug, victorious grin Mikoto loathed seeing. Shokuhou had her in a corner with that one.

"Could you not have come up with a less embarrassing way to get rid of her?!" Mikoto yelled. "Now Kuroko thinks I made out with Touma and unless she figures out it was you, I can't change her mind!"

"So?!" Shokuhou demanded. "I don't like Shirai, Misaka-san! As I matter of fact, I hate her! You seem to be under the impression that I care about how she feels!"

"That's the problem!" Mikoto pointed out. "You don't ever think of anyone else! The only one you worry about in your perfect plans is yourself! Why don't you ever take the time to think about anyone else's feelings?! Like Mine?! Or Kuroko's?!"

"Because I hate the both of you!" Mikoto stared at Shokuhou as the blonde glared back at her. "I hate you, I hate her, and I hate the fact that I'm stuck with you! I swear to God, the second the year ends, I'm moving the hell out of here!"

"Good!" Mikoto shouted back. "But I doubt you'll be able to find anyone else who'd put up with your whiny, bitchy, lazy, and downright poisonous attitude! Cause you know what?! I hate you too!" Mikoto laughed coldly. "I can't believe I ever thought this could work out civilly! Why in the name of God would I ever want to be friends with you?!" Leaving the blonde with this, Mikoto did a one-eighty and stormed down the hall, slamming the door to her room once she was inside. She threw herself on her bed and proceeded to try and suffocate herself in her pillow.

"Oh, one more thing Misaka-san!" Shokuhou was just outside her door. "I should probably apologize for putting you through all that training to act like a guy. After all, why would you need it?"

"You know what?!" Mikoto asked. "Don't talk to me anymore! We'll act like each other doesn't exist!"

"Fine by me!" A door slam later, the dorm became silent. Mikoto just sat there, face buried in her pillow, replaying the argument over in her head. She cursed when she realized there were so many better insults she could've used, and had opted out in the moment because she wasn't thinking straight.

 _This is going to get so awkward._

* * *

It had been a full week since Mikoto had spoken a word to Shokuhou, and vice versa. The two barely even exchanged glances anymore, just ignored each other all together.

It had been the more stress free week Mikoto had ever had.

Not having to deal with Shokuhou and her constant strain on Mikoto's patience really saved her a lot of stress. She didn't really know what her 'roommate' was up to, but she really couldn't care less. At all. She sighed in contentment as she made her way to her morning class, by herself obviously. She walked into the class and greeted her classmates, not sparing a single glance for the blonde who was already sitting down in the back. She made her way to her desk and sat down, closing her eyes briefly as the sun shone in the window.

"Ahhh, such a nice day to be locked up in here..." As the bell rang and Itagaki came in, Mikoto decided it was about time she start to pay attention.

"Alright, how was everyone's weekend?" Itagaki asked. Mikoto's had been excellent. She'd completely ignored the other human in her living space and enjoyed herself. Itagaki got a mixture of non-enthusiastic responses, which was to be expected on a Monday morning. "Well, I hope you all remembered that your essays are due today."

...

"...Eh?" Mikoto asked weakly, low enough that no one heard her.

The essay!

She'd totally forgotten to write it! She'd been counting on Shokuhou but after a week of silence and the huge fight Mikoto doubted Shokuhou would even raise a pencil for her, let alone do an entire ten page essay. Mikoto gulped. This was bad. Very very bad. She'd never not handed in something for Itagaki, but she and the others in class had heard the stories of his catch up assignments from those who'd suffered through it. This was a big assignment too, so Mikoto could only imagine the hell she would be subjected to when she said she didn't have it done.

"I'm just going to go down the aisles from right to left." Itagaki said. "When I call you up, just bring it to me." Mikoto looked around. There were five rows of desks, hers being in the fifth row in the back.

 _Maybe I could pump something out!_

No, no that was impossible. The essay needed a minimum of ten pages, and she had maybe five minutes. Even if she wrote as hard as she could, there was no way in hell she was going to be able to come up with something she could hand in.

"Okazaki-san?"

"Right here Itagaki-sensei!"

 _"Oh man, I'm so done for. I can't hand anything in!_ Mikoto started to bounce her leg nervously, biting her lip as well. _"What do I do?!"_

Kijmuta-san?"

"Coming!"

 _I'm going to need a great explanation on my grave...Maybe something about how I died._

"Shokuhou-san?" Mikoto looked up at the familiar name as the blonde who sat in the back of the third row smiled and stood.

"It's right here, Itagaki-sensei!" She said cheerfully. She walked up to him and brandished the work towards him, and he took it. "I'm sure you'll find it's more than what you asked for."

"Is it now?" Itagaki asked, weighing the paper for effect. "Guess we'll see if that means it's any better than the others." Shokuhou nodded and gleefully bounced back to her seat.

 _where the hell did she find the time to do that?! Is that why she was locked in her room all weekend?_

Mikoto was running out of time. She needed an excuse, and a great one at that. What was something Itagaki would accept? A dead parent? No, too suspicious and easily proved wrong. Printer problems? No, that couldn't be it. Too everyday. Maybe she could say she spilled coffee on her laptop and lost it? No, to convenient.

"Misaka-san?" Mikoto jumped as her name was finally spoken. She stared at her teacher wide eyed.

"Y-Yes?" She asked.

"Your essay." He replied. "Do you have it done?" Mikoto pressed her lips together tightly and tried to come up with an answer. The entire class was staring at her now, as she had not immediately handed it in.

Printer problems it would be.

"W-Well, you see..." Mikoto replied with a chuckle. "The problem with that is..."

"Over here, Itagaki-sensei!" Mikoto didn't know who had spoken up, so she turned to look.

Shokuhou was standing with another bundle of paper in her arms.

"I have Misaka-san's essay!" She said. The whole class exchanged nervous looks. Itagaki raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

Mikoto just stared at her roommate, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Do you now?" Itagaki asked. "Come here, let me see it." Shokuhou walked forward and handed over the paper smoothly, and Itagaki started to read it. He then picked out another essay, presumably Shokuhou's, and read them side by side. He then looked over at Mikoto. "Come here, Misaka-san."

"R-Right!" Mikoto stood slowly and walked to the front, keeping her gaze on the floor. When she looked up, an essay was being handed to her.

"Is this your work?" Itagaki asked. Mikoto took the essay gingerly in her hands, and looked over at Shokuhou.

It was the first time in a week their eyes had met, but the message was conveyed almost immediately. Mikoto quickly looked down at her paper and pretended to read it, and smiled happily.

"It is!" She replied. "I thought that it hadn't printed this morning, I was so worried..." Mikoto breathed a real sigh of relief as Itagaki accepted the paper when she offered it back to him.

"It was right behind mine in the printer." Shokuhou explained to him. "I figured I'd grab it for her, but I forgot to mention it."

"Alright." Itagaki looked over at Mikoto. "Thank you, Mikoto."

"N-No problem..." Mikoto turned around and was immediately met by the smiling and knowing faces of her classmates. She smiled and winked for them, and everyone rolled their eyes. Returning to her seat, Mikoto remained silent. After a moment of silent contemplation, she looked over at Shokuhou, who was resting her head on one hand and watching the lesson lazily.

 _She actually did it for me...After everything we said too._

Mikoto wasn't sure what to think anymore. On one hand, their fight still weigh heavily on her mind.

On the other hand, she was reminded of drunk Shokuhou slurring out how she considered Mikoto a friend.

 _Just what the hell goes on inside your head, Shokuhou-san?_

 **I feel that's a good place to leave it, don't you? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	23. What a Day to Apologize

**Sorry for the wait guys, real life stuff and all that crap.**

 **Enjoy!**

Mikoto paced back and forth down the hallway of her dorm, biting her lip as she did so. She stopped as Shokuhou's door, raised her fist to knock, stopped, then continued pacing.

Mikoto wanted to say something, anything, to the girl who'd done her essay even after they'd screamed insults at each other. It had crossed Mikoto's mind that Shokuhou had half-assed the job, even not done it very well either, but she'd still done it. She stopped and stared at the shut door, which she knew her roommate was behind. She'd shut the door behind her almost as soon as school ended that day, and had been there for a few hours. Mikoto stood at the door and stared at it, her biggest obstacle at the moment.

 _Come on, just knock on the door..._

Mikoto mechanically raised her right arm and clenched her fist, knocking it gently against the wood. Silence replied to her, so Mikoto waited. She did not hear any movement inside, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Shokuhou-san?" Mikoto asked quietly. "Can..." Mikoto sighed. "Can I talk to you?" The blonde did not reply to her, and Mikoto knocked on the door again. "Come on, open up. I need to talk to you."

"Oh?" her voice came. "Are you _really_ sure youwant to deal with my poisonous attitude right now?" Mikoto flinched a little and tried to laugh it off.

"Come on." Mikoto said. "I want to talk. Could you...?" She trailed off purposefully, hoping Shokuhou would get up and open the door. She waited patiently before a huge sigh came from inside, and footsteps approached the door. Before long, the irritated face of her blonde roommate was watching her carefully.

"Yes?" She asked, leaning against the door frame. "Did you need something?" Mikoto smiled slightly.

"Well, uh," Mikoto started. "I just wanted to, uh, you know, thank you." Mikoto said.

"Your welcome." Shokuhou replied, turning and trying to shut the door. Mikoto grabbed it before she could, however.

"I'm not done." Mikoto said. Shokuhou was watching her over her shoulder, but stopped trying to close the door. Mikoto took a deep breath. "Thank you for doing my essay for me. After we fought...I totally forgot about it. So really, thank you for that." Shokuhou did not say anything to this, and Mikoto smiled. "I appreciate it."

"...It was no big deal." Shokuhou replied quietly, looking into her room away from Mikoto. "I promised you I would. Regardless of the fight, you still went with my cross dressing plan without much of an argument. I didn't want to be indebted to you of all people." Mikoto nodded, that made sense. "So, are we done?" For one reason or another, the cold tone Shokuhou used made Mikoto feel off.

"Uh...Well, you see, I..." Mikoto could not form her words, so Shokuhou once again attempted to shut the door. Mikoto shoved her foot in between the door and the frame.

"I'm sorry." Mikoto blurted. Shokuhou did not do anything, so Mikoto looked up. "For what I said last week. I'm sorry."

"..."

"...I was out of line with what I said to you. I was stressed and a little freaked out, so I was already pretty pissed when my investigation got to you. I...Kind of said more than I meant to. I know that you were drunk, and you were just trying to help. I'm sorry." Silence enveloped the pair, more tense than awkward. After what felt like a million years, Shokuhou sighed and turned a little to look at Mikoto over her shoulder again.

"...I'm sorry too." She murmured. Mikoto looked up in surprise. She hadn't expected Shokuhou to say that. After all, there was very little Shokuhou had done wrong except lose her cool when Mikoto had lost her own. "I...Well no matter how much the liquor did for me in that moment, I probably could've come up with a better way to deal with it, so...Sorry." The blonde turned around completely then. "I also get the feeling I was going to get rid of Shirai's memories, but it slipped my hammered mind, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess." Mikoto agreed. The two feel silent for a moment, before Mikoto smiled and put her hand forward for a shake of truce. Shokuhou stared at it before she slowly placed her hand in Mikoto's, squeezing it in agreement before releasing it. "So uh...We're cool then?" Mikoto asked hopefully. Shokuhou rolled her eyes and looked away.

"For now, I guess." She said. "I felt pretty stupid about that fight of ours right after anyway."

"Heh," Mikoto chuckled. "It was sort of childish, right?"

"Totally." Shokuhou agreed. "What with the never talk to me again stuff...Below us."

"Y-Yeah..." The two kept their gaze away from each other as the formerly tense atmosphere turned awkward. Mikoto had not expected that to go so smoothly, so the silence was unnerving. After a moment to think, Mikoto had an idea. "Hey uh, idea."

"Yeah?" Shokuhou asked.

"I think you should apologize to Kuroko." Shokuhou's face flickered with annoyance, and Mikoto shook her head. "Come off it, it'd be for the best."

"I know that but...Ugh, it'd be such a pain." She crossed her arms and frowned. "I went overboard insulting you last week, but I really don't like her, Misaka-san."

"Don't you find her more irritating when she's freaking out?" Shokuhou nodded. "Then wouldn't apologizing be the best thing to do?" Shokuhou sighed.

"Alright, I'll do it, if it fixes this stupid mess." Shokuhou said, and Mikoto pulled her phone out, calling Kuroko.

 _"Hello?"_

"Hey Kuroko, are you at the Judgment office right now?"

 _"I am. What of it?"_

"Stay right there, I'm coming to see you." Kuroko sounded happy about this.

 _"Oh excellent! I, after all, must talk to you about what happened last week, Onee-sama."_ Mikoto just smiled weakly. She probably had no idea that that was what Mikoto wanted as well. Hanging up, Mikoto turned to Shokuhou.

"Should we go?" She asked. Shokuhou nodded.

"Let's get this over with."

* * *

"Stop dragging your feet, would you?"

"Oh look! A vending machine! Let's get a drink, Misaka-san."

"We just had one!"

"You seem to think that makes a point."

"We're wasting daylight, come on."

"But I'm thirsty!"

"There's no way you're thirsty!" Mikoto stared at Shokuhou ignoring her and bouncing towards the vending machine. Mikoto could not believe how much time Shokuhou was wasting in an attempt to stall her apology to Kuroko. Mikoto understood, Kuroko was a difficult girl, but everyone would be better of afterwards. She watched Shokuhou take a million years to choose what drink she wanted, and then she pretended the machine wasn't working, and then 'marvel' at the nature around her in the park as she finally got back to Mikoto.

"Alright, I got my drink!"

"Are you done?"

"What does that mean?"

"You know exactly what it means." Shokuhou played stupid and giggled it off, opening her drink and taking a sip. Mikoto sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Sometimes I just don't know what to do with you." Mikoto looked back down the street in which they were walking down, and froze.

A certain idiot stood at the crosswalk, waiting to go. He seemed to detect her staring. and turned to look at them, his eyes widening. When his gaze met Mikoto's, fright crossed his tense features. Mikoto winced as she recalled the death threats she'd spat in his direction a week before. She felt terrible for yelling at and trying to kill him, and wanted to say something but as usual with him, her tongue refused to sound out her words.

And of course Shokuhou, having no prior knowledge of any of the threats, yelling, or any of that, called out to him.

"Kamijou-san! Hi!" Touma did not react to her greeting, he just kept his eyes on Mikoto. Shokuhou made an upset sound. "He doesn't look okay. Sort of frightened."

"Y-Yeah..." Mikoto agreed. Shokuhou shrugged and started to walk forward, which compelled Mikoto do so as well. One step forward, and Touma's whole body seized in anticipation, she saw it clearly. He was waiting for her to scream and attack him, obviously. She didn't like that his first thought about her was how violent she was, but she couldn't help that at all. "H-Hi, you idiot." She said loud enough for him to hear.

"H-Hey." He replied. We walked forward until she was right next to him, gaze still locked with him. At this point Mikoto could tell his entire body was waiting for an excuse to sprint in the opposite direction, but she wasn't going to give him one. "H-How've you been?"

"Alright, yourself?" Mikoto asked, trying to sound kind. He shrugged.

"Good, good..." Mikoto sighed. Today was all about apologizing, apparently.

"Listen up, you idiot." Mikoto said. Her words were harsh, but her tone was soft. "I'm sorry for threatening you." She looked away as he stared at her. "I was under the assumption you'd gotten freaky with my clone so I sort of flipped out and took out my anger on you. I know now you had nothing to do with that incident so... I'm sorry for, y'know, trying to kill you. Again." He did not speak for a moment or two, clearly thinking over what she'd said. Finally, he laughed.

"I have to say Biribiri, you're lucky I'm an easygoing guy for the most part." he told her flatly. "If I was anyone else I'd have run by now." She chuckled as the atmosphere lifted considerably. He had a point, after all.

"Yeah, I guess." She replied. As the two laughed, Mikoto saw Shokuhou standing behind Touma, arms crossed and foot lightly tapping the pavement. She seemed rather pissed that Mikoto was taking her sweet time in coming with her to talk to Kuroko.

She didn't know if Shokuhou knew how damn ironic and hypocritical that was, but it didn't matter. Touma took notice of her as well, and hummed in confusion.

"What are you two doing anyway?" He asked.

"My lovely roomie over there was on her way to apologize to Kuroko for causing the incident that put your life at risk.". Mikoto replied casually.

"Well, care to tell me what she did?"

"...Eh?" Mikoto stared at Touma with wide eyes. Had he really just asked that? Could she tell him? "W-What she d-did?"

"Yeah. I mean, it did put me in life threatening danger." he added with a smile.

And naturally, Mikoto clamped up.

"W-Well, I-I mean, I guess I should..." Mikoto replied quietly. She tried to form her words, which failed, and as she stuttered uselessly, She saw Shokuhou approaching from behind Touma.

"Misaka-san, I hate to interrupt all the tsun-tsun going on over here, but I kind of want to get this over with, so can we go?" She asked. Mikoto failed at speaking, so Touma turned to her.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" He asked. Shokuhou nodded absentmindedly. "Whatever incident you caused made Biribiri over here make an attempt on my life." He chuckled as Shokuhou looked over at him. "All I remember about is is that we were making something, from what she yelled at me. So what was it?" Shokuhou made a face and laughed.

"Making something? I didn't intend to envision that much." She said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"S-S-Shokuhou-san!" Mikoto wailed. Shokuhou giggled.

"I made Shirai think she saw you two, or rather you and Worst, having a passionate make out session in the courtyard in order to make sure she didn't cause any problems in our already precarious plan."

"...O-Oh?" Touma asked and Mikoto felt like she wanted to die. He slowly looked over at Mikoto, who could not meet his gaze. "I suppose that'd stop her alright..."

"Right? It sure did too!" Silence fell upon the three of them after this, two thirds of the group feeling rather awkward. Touma coughed, and the crosswalk told him he could cross.

"Oh wow look at that I can go well I'll be going bye!" Without pausing even the slightest in his sentence, Touma took off across the street and away from them.

"He's in a hurry, huh?" Shokuhou asked. Mikoto remained silent, grabbed the blonde's arm, and dragged her in the direction of the Judgment office. "Hey! That's my arm Misaka-san, I sort of need it!"

"...Let's just get this day over with."

* * *

"Alright well, are you ready?" Mikoto asked. Shokuhou sighed.

"Ugh, yeah." She replied, sounding irritated. The novelty of Mikoto's tsundere performance had worn off for Shokuhou, who had remembered why they'd come into the city that day. "Let's do it." Mikoto nodded, and opened the door into the office Kuroko and Uiharu worked in.

"I'm here!" Mikoto announced. Uiharu turned in her seat.

"Oh hi Misaka-san! Shokuhou-san!" She greeted. "Shirai-san just went to the bathroom, she'll be back in a moment."

"Ugh..." Shokuhou moaned, throwing herself on the couch in the office. Mikoto only smiled at the motion before she looked over at Uiharu.

"So Kuroko managed to get out of bed?" She asked. Uiharu nodded without looking at Mikoto, still typing away at a report.

"She said after you talked to her she felt better." She replied. "She seems a little miffed about something, though." Understandable. Kuroko had obviously figured out what had happened with Shokuhou, and had gotten over her mysterious 'ailment'.

"Well that's good." Mikoto replied, looking over at Shokuhou as if to prove her point. Shokuhou just narrowed her gaze and looked away, making Mikoto chuckle. Just as Mikoto was about to ask where Konori was, the door handle turned, signaling someone's entrance.

"Well Uiharu, I think we should..." Kuroko started, looking up and seeing Mikoto. "Ah! You're here, Onee-sama."

"Yep." Kuroko walked in and faced her head on.

"Look," She said. "Now that I know what happened at that dance, I don't think you should..." Kuroko then decided to look over at the side of the office, noticing Shokuhou. She jumped in surprise. |What the hell are you doing here?!" She asked in a shrill voice.

"Here we go..." Shokuhou said bluntly.

"Why are you here?!" Shokuhou ignored this question and stood, facing Kuroko.

"To, well, apologize." She replied simply. Kuroko laughed.

"Yeah, alright." Kuroko laughed. "Why would you of all people apologize to me?"

"Because I guess I would rather a semi-functional dorm life." Shokuhou said. "Anyway, I would like to...Well I wouldn't but I'm going to apologize to you for making you see that illusion of Wor...Misaka-san and Kamijou-san." Shokuhou had almost said Worst, the name of the clone that Kuroko had no idea existed. "So, well, I'm sorry."

"Like hell you are." Shokuhou looked over at Mikoto, who just nodded. This earned a groan.

"No, I really am." She insisted. "I'm _really_ sorry I made you see that."

"I don't believe you, you know." Shokuhou sighed, and drew her remote like a pistol and aimed it at Kuroko, clicking a few buttons. After this, Kuroko shook her head in a daze. "D...Don't worry Shokuhou, I forgive you." Shokuhou threw on a false smile.

"Why thank you, Shirai!" She said sweetly. "I'm so happy you've forgiven me!" Shokuhou lost her smile as she looked over at Mikoto. "Can we go now, or what?" She asked, sounding just as irritated as before. Mikoto sighed, knowing that what she'd gotten would have to be good enough.

"Yeah, I suppose." She replied. "I guess we could've done that from the beginning." Shokuhou nodded and went for the door, Mikoto not far behind. As they reached the door, Mikoto stopped and turned to look at Kuroko.

"What?" Shokuhou asked.

"...Erase the memory of the vision."

* * *

Two weeks later everything had returned to normal, at least relatively. Mikoto and Shokuhou's 'relationship' had returned to a somewhat normal one. They still had fights, ranging from the silly to the serious, but nothing escalated beyond the 'I hate you don't talk to me' from before. They both agreed they were above such a reaction, especially from something that once thought about, was actually pretty funny.

Eventually, as the night that had caused the fight became a whole month in the past and June turned to July, The heat hit Academy City hard. The city obviously had ways to filter the air to a more comfortable temperature for the citizens of the city, but sometimes, if it got bad, that did nothing to help.

But Mikoto had no room to complain, the entire of the Nagatenjouki grounds could turn completely frigid if need be, including the class she was currently sitting in.

"I can't believe it's already July." Mikoto nodded at her roommates voice, who had turned the seat from the desk in front of her around to sit and speak to Mikoto.

"Right?" She asked. "Feels like it was April only a week ago." Shokuhou looked over at the door and frowned.

"Itagaki-sensei is late." She said. Mikoto took notice of this as well, as it was an odd sight to see. Itagaki was usually there pretty early, but not today. The final bell until the day started was about to ring, and he had not shown up yet. Others seemed to notice this as well, but no one said anything. The only person who walked in was Accelerator.

"Get the hell out of my seat, fifth-rate." He said. Shokuhou complied silently and gave the seat back to the Number One, who took it and turned it away from Mikoto and sat.

"Morning to you too." Mikoto teased. She honestly didn't know when she'd gotten so comfortable around that psychopath, but she actually enjoyed pushing his buttons.

Then again, all the clones did as well, so apparently it ran in the gene pool.

Accelerator flipped her off over his shoulder as their teacher walked in, carrying an inhuman amount of papers.

"Sorry I'm late everyone." he said, drawing attention of the class. "I was just getting your exam reviews ready."

...

Mikoto had totally forgotten she had her final exams in a month.

 **You may have noticed it here, but I have to do some more rapid time skipping. I don't want this story to end up with like seventy chapters, and we're only now closing in on the first semester after twenty three chapters. Just have to go a bit faster.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	24. Not Worried

**Holy hell, I am so sorry guys! I hadn't realized it had been so long since I've updated this story. I'm sure I've said this is a side project, but with my other story temporarily on hold I sort of planned to regularly update.**

 **Oh well.**

 **Enjoy!**

Silence. Some loved it, others not so so much. It was also very helpful for students to study their subjects and work on things they needed to finish.

And Mikoto did not have that. At least not the silence most people had.

Her silence was occasionally punctuated by her lovely roommate making snarky comments or complaining. And it had been that way for roughly two weeks. Shokuhou was smart, Mikoto gave her that much, but it was extremely difficult to study her subjects with the blonde doing what she was doing.

Why had she agreed to study together with her?

"Hey, Misaka-san." Mikoto heard her name being called, so she looked up from her notes.

"Yes?" She asked as sweetly as possible, trying to knock back her irritation. Instead of a mischievous smile, Shokuhou looked rather pensive. She also had a sheet in her hands, covered in very neat and cutely written letters.

"Did I write this correctly?" She asked, gesturing the paper towards her. Mikoto took the paper and ran her eyes over the letters, looking for any mistakes Shokuhou may have made.

"Hm...Not that I can tell." She replied, handing it back. Shokuhou nodded and took the paper back, placing it next to a pile on the coffee table. The girl went over her other notes quietly, and Mikoto watched with a weird look. She had just done a one-eighty in her attitude towards studying, which seemed a little suspicious.

"Hey," Mikoto said, making Shokuhou look back over at her in curiosity. "Are you actually trying now?" Shokuhou rolled her eyes.

"Despite my attitude, I kind of need to pass these exams too." She replied. Mikoto knew that of course. "Besides, complaining only gets me so far now that your ignoring me."

"Doing my best anyway..."

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. Say, did you do that math assignment we got last week yet?" Shokuhou made a contemplative face and shifted through her pile of notes, making negative sounds again and again as she looked for it.

"No...No...No...Oh...No I don't think I did." She then turned back to Mikoto and whimpered, holding her hand out pathetically. Mikoto sighed and shifted through her own pile, before she found the assignment and gave it to Shokuhou.

"Don't copy it exactly." Mikoto warned.

"I know the drill." Mikoto watched Shokuhou take out a sheet of paper and begin copying Mikoto's work.

 _When exactly did we get to the point where I was alright with her copying my work?_

Mikoto frowned as this thought crossed her mind. She really didn't have an answer to her question, either. Every time she wondered about it, she only confused herself further. And then she ended up thinking about drunk Shokuhou and what she said and it all just...

Mikoto shook her head to clear it. She couldn't afford to waste the brain energy thinking about that kind of thing at the moment. She needed to focus on studying. Turning back to her notes, she read them over carefully, before she spotted a problem.

There was a blank space in her notes, right where something important should have been.

Clearly she'd spaced out in the middle of class and missed it, leaving a space to tell her future self to write it down.

"Shokuhou-san." She said, tapping her roommate. The girl looked up in curiosity. "Did you get this? I need to see it." Shokuhou took a moment to inspect the paper before she made a face.

"I think so," She replied. She then pointed to one of her stacks of notes. "Check that stack, I think it's in there." Mikoto wrapped her hands around the stack and brought them into her lap, beginning to flip the pages one at a time to find the one she wanted. She found it soon enough, and slipped it out of the stack and onto the table.

"Thanks." Mikoto said offhandedly as she began to fill in her gap.

"No problem." The two continued in silence, which Mikoto was grateful for. After all, she really needed to concentr...

"I'm getting really bored, Misaka-san." Never mind. Mikoto looked over at Shokuhou, who just watched her.

"Study." Mikoto instructed.

"But I'm bored!"

"And?"

"Can we not go do something and start studying again later?"

"And what would that accomplish?"

"..."

"That's what I thought. Now shut up and keep working." A loud groan accompanied Mikoto's words, and she watched Shokuhou sink into the couch.

"But...But..."

"We'll gain nothing from going out. Just study why don't you?"

"Aren't we smart enough?! I mean really." Mikoto thought about this for a moment. Sure, she was extremely smart. Shokuhou as well.

It took one look back at the math sheet Shokuhou had borrowed to remind her how lost it made her feel.

"If you want to go out, go ahead. I'm staying here."

* * *

"How the hell did I let you convince me to go with you?" Mikoto asked as they walked down the street away from their dorm. Shokuhou giggled.

"The world shall never know." She said. Mikoto shook her head as she followed the blonde down the street. She knew that Shokuhou was, once again, stalling. It was a magnificent ability of hers.

"So what exactly are we doing?" Mikoto asked, making Shokuhou stop and look back at her.

"I don't know, on an adventure."

"You really don't want to study, do you?"

"Not all day all the time. It's a serious drain on my attitude, Misaka-san."

"Right..."

"Honest to God truth!"

"Sure, sure. Now that you've gotten me out, how are you going to keep me distracted?" Shokuhou made a contemplative face at this question. Mikoto waited with her hands on her hips.

"Maybe I'll stuff you with food."

"No thanks." Shokuhou smirked.

"Awww, come on! I'm sure if you ate you'd come closer to competing with my chest!"

"Shut up, Shokuhou-san!" This caused the blonde to burst out laughing as Mikoto fumed. The chest jokes were getting old fast. As Shokuhou collected herself, she started walking away once again.

"It's so much fun messing with you." She said with a satisfied sigh. Mikoto just rolled her eyes.

"Good to know you can laugh at my expense."

"Well it's not like I keep you around because we get along."

"Fair enough." Mikoto couldn't help but chuckle at this little exchange. Pushing away the memory of drunk Shokuhou's ramblings, she looked over at the blonde. "But seriously, if we aren't going to do anything how about we just go back?" Shokuhou made an upset face.

"I don't want to!" She complained. "I tried to work without getting distracted, but I did and now I don't want to."

"I suppose you haven't changed much, huh? You've never liked exerting yourself for anything." Shokuhou huffed at this, making Mikoto smiled a little.

"It takes effort." She replied. "And I don't want to spend that effort." Shrugging as she stretched, Mikoto pulled out her phone to check a text. It was from Uiharu, asking how the studying was going. Quickly replying that she currently wasn't because Shokuhou was being difficult, she turned back to find Shokuhou sitting on a bench twiddling her thumbs.

"I'm going to go back." Mikoto said matter of factly. "With how much work we've done over the last few months, plus what were still doing, I'll only just finish before exams start. Are you going to come or keep running around out here?" Shokuhou looked nauseous.

"If I go back will you make me study?"

"No." Mikoto walked past the blonde on the way back to their dorms. "It's not up to me whether or not you study, Pass or fail, it makes no difference to me." This was only somewhat true. Mikoto only cared slightly because she knew that if Shokuhou, somehow, failed her exams, she'd never hear the end of it.

That was the last thing she needed.

"Ugh, fine." Shokuhou got up from her seat and dragged her feet behind Mikoto, slowly making their way past to the dorms.

* * *

Mikoto finished the note she was reviewing just as an explosion sounded from the TV. Shokuhou growled in frustration, game controller in hand.

"Seriously?!" She demanded. "How in the hell did he even...?! Gah!" Mikoto raised her eyes just in time to see the controller fly across the room and hit the wall. "That combo isn't possible unless you have three hands! I can't believe I lost to him!"

"Problem?" Mikoto asked sarcastically.

"Yes! That guy I was fighting online was way too good!"

"Yeah, well..."

"Not to mention he totally cheated!" Mikoto decided to then ignore the angry ramblings coming from the blonde, returning to her notes. Once Shokuhou calmed down, she turned everything off and sat on the other seat near the counter.

"Hey, whatcha studying?" She asked, poking Mikoto's cheek with her index finger.

"Stuff." Mikoto answered vaguely.

"What kinda stuff?"

"What do you want, Shokuhou-san?"

"Your love and affection." Mikoto looked up and raised an eyebrow, which caused Shokuhou to wink. "Just kidding. That's for Shirai." Mikoto just sighed and returned her eyes to the sheet on the counter. "But in all seriousness, lemme see."

"Go look at your own notes on it."

"Mine aren't as good."

"How so? It's the same stuff."

"Yeah but I stopped paying attention on this day."

"You don't even remember what day this was."

"I always stop paying attention."

"Stop bothering me and go do your own thing."

"Bothering you is my own thing." Mikoto growled and lifted her head once again to glare at Shokuhou, who only stuck her tongue out and grinned in response. "Come on, don't get so irritated with me."

"I'm trying to study."

"I can see that. You've been doing greatly. ignoring me so far."

"Shokuhou-san I'm going to give you three seconds to go away before I use a few thousand volts to make you." Shokuhou laughed and got off the chair and backed up away from Mikoto.

"You get pissed way to fast, Misaka-san."

"As if you didn't know that!" Laughing as she went to her room, Shokuhou soon grew quiet. Mikoto waited a moment to see if the she-devil would resurface and continue to irritate her, but she did not appear. Sighing in relief, Mikoto returned her gaze once again to her page. She just really needed to get through all her notes, or else her exam scores would be low.

Making it through another sheet, Mikoto wondered just how Shokuhou planned to get through the next few weeks.

 _Oh well. Not my problem if she fails._

* * *

"Well everyone, as I'm sure you may know, today is our last day of school prior to our exams." The class issued a groan as Itagaki said this, making him smile. "I'm sure you'll all do spectacularly, so don't worry. If you've studied enough, it'll be alright. In fact, I've decided that for today, I'll give you guys a chance to study in class. Enjoy it, I don't do it often." Some people seemed incredibly grateful for the chance, but Mikoto did not worry. She'd finished reviewing all her notes a few days before. She'd be fine, even if a bit worried about it. Taking out her phone and playing around with it, it didn't take long for Shokuhou to come along and talk to her, dragging her chair next to Mikoto.

"You're not gonna study?" Shokuhou asked. Mikoto raised her eyebrow.

"I think I should be asking you that." She replied. "I haven't seen you raise even a notebook for a few weeks. Are you not worried?"

"Should I be?"

"Uh, yes." Mikoto turned in her seat a bit more. "I mean, this is pretty important."

"Nah, I'm not worried."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, pretty sure." Shokuhou ripped a sheet of paper out of her notebook and put it on her lap, doodling pointlessly. "Now, tell me all about the crap Shirai texts you about." Mikoto rolled her eyes and was about to return her eyes to her phone when she heard Accelerator chuckle. Turning to look at him over her shoulder, she found that he was already looking at her.

"What?" She demanded. He shrugged.

"Nothing." he replied innocently. "I'm just enjoying that I figured out what Number Five over there is going to do." Mikoto made a face and looked over at Shokuhou, who was still doodling.

"What?" She asked. Accelerator frowned.

"Tch. If you actually haven't figured it out I'm not telling you." Mikoto frowned at him and looked back over at Shokuhou again. The blonde didn't seem to be doing anything suspicious, just humming some tune to herself as she randomly dragged her pen across the page.

 _I'm missing something huge here, aren't I?_

Mikoto frowned, but once again returned to her phone.

It was still not her problem.

* * *

"Alright Misaka-san, I'm going out for a little bit." Mikoto looked up in surprise as Shokuhou made her way for the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked. Shokuhou turned and flashed an innocent enough smile.

"Just for some air. it smells like you in here, it's making me sick." Mikoto sighed at the insult, but let it slide regardless. "Don't wait up, I won't be long."

"I wasn't going to anyway." Mikoto reminded her as the door opened and shut. After a few moments of silence, she frowned and looked back at the door, her curiosity making her want to know what Shokuhou was up to. Sighing, Mikoto returned to her show. After all, how much trouble could Shokuhou possibly get into?

* * *

Misaki grinned as she saw a group of students from her class up ahead of her. She had chosen her time to leave the dorm perfectly. It was around this hour students came back from wandering around the city with their friends to their dorms. Once the group got inside the gate, Misaki aimed her remote at the boy in front, and clicked the button her finger rested on.

Soon enough, Misaki's head was filled with the things the boy had studied the last few days. She did a quick scan of what she could see before she canceled her reading and started on the girl behind him.

This, after all, was her plan. If she could keep a general idea of everything she saw in her classmates heads, she could pass the exams with flying colors. Very simple, very innocent, and Misaka wouldn't know. She knew her English exam was first, so she focused most on this information. After she finished with this group, she waited until she saw more classmates to read their minds as well. After another group of people had their minds read, Misaki quickly went over everything she saw.

"See, Misaka-san? I'm fine."

 **I'm so sorry this chapter is a little shorter than they usually are, I just wanted to get something out to you guys after so long. I will definitely update more frequently in the future if I can. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	25. The Honest Way

**Heheh...Hey guys! Been a while huh? Yeah I know it's been a long time, and I'm really sorry.**

 **I kind of just left you guys abruptly, and for that I apologize. I didn't mean too, and before I knew it months had passed. I don't intend to leave this story, I really love it, and I'm sure a lot of you guys do to. So I intend to finish it! I may not update frequently with my other two stories doing so well, but I haven't forgotten my little baby!**

 **Enjoy!**

As the clocks ticking regularly punctuated the silence of the classroom, Mikoto felt like gouging her eyes out with her pencil. As she tapped the paper lightly with her fingers, a wave of distress hit her once more. It wasn't that she didn't know what she was doing, it was the constant nagging thought that she'd messed up and didn't notice. Once she'd received the stack of paper that morning, every answered question had been with doubt. Judging from some of her classmates reactions, she was not alone in this regard.

Sighing, Mikoto turned and looked out the window. It was a beautiful day, but that did nothing to soothe her. Turning her head back into the class, Mikoto ran her eyes across it until they landed on Shokuhou, who seemed to be focusing rather intently on her sheet. After watching her for a moment, the girl smiled and wrote something down on her page. Mikoto wondered how well the girl was doing. After all, as far as she knew she hadn't studied very much. She seemed, however, to not be that worried about what she was doing. She could practically be humming in content by the way she was smiling, and it made Mikoto confused. After all, the blonde had not studied that much.

She didn't have time to be worried about that. Turning her eyes back to the clock on the wall, she acknowledged that she was almost out of time. They had a time limit of three hours for their exams, and they had roughly half an hour left.

"Just a heads up everyone, half an hour left." Itagaki said, making several people pale and moan. "Remember, you can hand in your work whenever you're ready, and you can leave." Mikoto wished she was done, the tension in the room was practically unbearable. She returned to her work and finished the question she'd been working on, hearing several chairs being pushed back as people stood up to hand their work in. How were they done? They must've really believed they had it right.

"Here you are, Itagaki-sensei!" Mikoto perked up at this and raised her head, spotting Shokuhou handing her work in. "All finished!"

"Are you now?" He asked. "You sure about that?"

"Yep!" Completely certain." Itagaki nodded and took her work from her, and the blonde left the room.

 _...How? She's a lot smarter than I give her credit for if she's done already..._

Realizing she had no room to spare on Shokuhou, Mikoto returned to her work and finished another question. She was on the last page now, and she could hear the outside world calling to her as she started to work on another question.

And her phone buzzed against her thigh.

Hadn't she turned it off?

Mikoto attempted to ignore the device, but it continued after she failed to answer it the first time. She grimaced as it vibrated again.

 _Who the hell is that?! I really should've just turned it off..._

Doing her best to ignore it, Mikoto stumbled her way through the next few questions and did her best to make sure they had been completed to the best of her ability.

But the phone refused to stop.

And she was starting to lose her patience. Whoever was trying to gt a hold of her was going to receive an earful once she was done.

"Fifteen minutes." Itagaki warned. "Make sure you've done everything. Don't leave a question blank, either. An attempt is better than a blank." Mikoto heard and acknowledged this information, but she was really starting to lose her patience.

"You not gonna answer that, third-rate?" Mikoto attempted to ignore the one who'd whispered to her, but he laughed. "Ah, ignoring it I see. Might be urgent though."

"Not now, Accelerator..." Mikoto hissed. "I am _not_ in the mood."

"Tch, whatever" Accelerator stood behind her and walked to the front of the class. He tossed his exam at Itagaki, who caught it, and he hobbled from the room.

 _Wait...Accelerator's just leaving now? Why? You'd think the guy with vector control would be smart enough to get out of here in thirty minutes...But how hard is this thing actually, then?! Gah!_

"Ten minutes." Mikoto scrambled at this and rapidly checked through the work she'd done, but she failed to find any errors. Maybe Accelerator was just trying to mess with her. Wouldn't be the first time. It seemed to be the Number One's hobby to see if he could get her mad in class.

 _I can't do this anymore...I'm done and that's it._

Mikoto took a deep breath and stood, pushing her chair back in the process. She walked to the front where Itagaki was watching her approach, and she shakily handed over the exam. He took it, and looked down briefly at it before putting it in the stack of papers to his left.

"Have any trouble, Misaka-san?" He asked. He tried to laugh him off, but the sound that came from her throat was pathetic at best.

"N-Nope, not at all!" She said feebly. "Just making sure I did it all right!"He nodded at her and then towards the door, telling her silently she could leave. Mikoto sped walked for the door and once she was outside, exhaled loudly.

 _Bzz bzz!_

Mikoto growled as her phone went off again. Pulling it out and turning the screen on, she stared at the notification.

 _Shokuhou Misaki (35)_

"...Are you kidding me?" Mikoto hissed. Unlocking the device, she went to investigate to find the whole conversation Shokuhou spamming her with questions ranging from how she did on a certain question to if she was done yet, which was the majority of the questions. Growling, Mikoto dialed the blonde and began to walk down the hall to exit the school.

 _"Yeah?"_ Shokuhou's voice answered as she picked up.

"Did you have to text me 35 times in the middle of my exam?" She demanded. "Not cool, Shokuhou-san."

 _"I was curious."_

"You could've waited a few minutes!"

 _"Nah."_

"Ugh...Sometimes I wonder how we haven't strangled each other yet."

 _"Cause you love me."_

"Keep thinking that, Shokuhou-san. Maybe one day I'll believe it."

 _"Ah cool your jets, zappy. Judging from your 'I'm tired of your shit Shokuhou' tone and not the 'I'm going to murder you Shokuhou' tone, you didn't get in trouble. Am I correct?"_

"Well, yeah..." Mikoto said as she opened the front door of the building and walked outside into the open. "But if I had gotten in trouble I wouldn't have opened up by asking you a question, I would've screamed at you."

 _"Believe me, I know. Hey, what're you doing now the you're obviously done?"_

"Going to study the other subjects. You?"

 _"I went out. Not sure where."_

"Just, for a walk?"

 _"Yeah I guess. Hey, do we need anything?"_

"What do you mean?"

 _"You know, like food."_ Mikoto gave it some thought.

"I don't know." She answered. "Maybe."

 _"Well check. I'm near the store so I'll get it if we do need anything."_

Mikoto sighed and kept the blonde on the line as she went into the elevator and pressed the appropriate buttons to make it go up. As she went up, she thought about what Shokuhou wanted from her.

 _She's doing that thing again... She's acting out of character in a way I shouldn't mind but do._

Mikoto reached their door, hacked the mechanism, and went inside. She immediately went for the fridge and opened it, searching for anything they might need.

"We don't really need much." She finally said. "But I guess some basics couldn't hurt."

 _"Can do, roomie. I'll be back soon."_

"Don't call me roomie."

 _"Gotcha roomie."_

"Shokuhou-san!"

 _"Yes roomie?"_ Mikoto rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed audibly.

"Just hang before I lose my temper and knock the power out again."

 _"Good idea. See ya."_ The line went dead, and Mikoto stared into the empty fridge, deep in thought.

"Why?" Mikoto asked the milk carton. "Why does she continue being so hard to read.?" The milk didn't answer her, and for good reason, so Mikoto closed the fridge and looked around the dorm.

She'd shared this living space with Shokuhou for about four months, give or take a few days. In that span of time, Shokuhou's character, as least how Mikoto knew it to be, warped drastically. She started out the same, became sickeningly sweet, became rather manipulative again, and now...

Mikoto flopped down on the couch and stared at the roof.

"Now she's somewhere in the middle." She said. "She's still incredibly irritating and manipulative, but...She's sweet when she wants to be. And then there's _that_ whole thing..."

 _"I wanted to hug my best friend!"_

Mikoto growled and threw a couch pillow over her mouth, masking the sound as it grew louder.

"She's confusing the hell out of me!" She shouted into the pillow. "Why did we let up on the headmaster?! I should've forced him to get me out of here!" She stayed that way for a bit until she decided dwelling on her blonde roommate wouldn't solve anything. She just needed to work. Going to her room and finding the subject in question, she took the notes and walked back out to the living room, threw the stack down on the table, and began to excruciating process of looking through it all. Doing so allowed her to forget the whole Shokuhou thing, at least for the moment, and focus on her studies.

But even those sometimes confused the hell out of her.

* * *

"I'm back!" Mikoto looked up as Shokuhou entered the dorm a few hours after the exams had ended, carrying bags. "And I come bearing gifts!"

"Great for you." Mikoto answered as she finished reviewing the sheet in her hand. "Put it away and don't bother me."

"Don't order me around, I was planning on it anyway."

"Not bothering me?" The two locked eyes at this, Mikoto looking assuming, and Shokuhou wearing the mask of innocence.

Shokuhou just snickered and stuck her tongue out.

"Thought so." Mikoto said as Shokuhou laughed. "I'm trying to study, something you apparently don't need."

"Cause I'm smart!" Shokuhou replied as she tossed things in the fridge and cupboards "Besides, that exam was kind of a breeze, right?"

"..."

"Misaka-san?"

"Yeah, totally."

 _You left before Accelerator! Even if he was trying to make people nervous by staying longer that's still suspicious!_

"But other than that," Shokuhou said, looking over at Mikoto. "What do you think we'll get as summer homework."

"Hell if I know." Mikoto answered. "Work."

"Hm." Shokuhou left the kitchen and walked behind Mikoto, who tensed and waited for the blonde to try something. She didn't at first, so Mikoto decided on returning her attention to her work.

Which was a mistake, seeing as soon as she did Shokuhou decided to throw herself over the back of the couch and land beside her.

"What are you doing?" Mikoto asked.

"Sitting on the couch." Shokuhou answered innocently.

"Upside down."

"Sure." The two stared at each other for a moment before Mikoto just sighed. God, Shokuhou did weird things sometimes. The girl stayed upside down for a while as Mikoto studied silently, but Mikoto waited for her to try something, anything. Finally, she did.

But she just twisted, placing the majority of her lower body on Mikoto, who protested accordingly, but Shokuhou just laughed.

"I'm going out again." She stated, going for the door.

"Where?" Mikoto asked. Shokuhou shrugged.

"Somewhere people will pay attention to me. You won't."

"Because I'm busy."

"So if you weren't busy you would."

"Not at all." Mikoto took her turn to smirk, making Shokuhou roll her eyes.

"Very funny." She said. "See you later." Mikoto watched the blonde leave, and stared at the door for a moment before returning to her work. After about fifteen minutes had passed, Mikoto got up from the couch and looked back at the door.

"I'm not letting you off the hook." She said. "You're up to something, Shokuhou Misaki. I'm going to find out what."

* * *

Misaki smirked as she saw another group of her classmates walking down the opposite side of the road, chatting meaninglessly. She raised her remote and flipped through their heads and found a decent amount of study notes she could use for her benefit.

"Ah, this is so easy." She said. "Like taking candy from a baby...Except I'm taking study notes from teens." Shaking her head at the bad joke, she finished her work and continued on her way, looking for anymore of her classmates. She didn't have a lot of ways to waste her time at home, so she decided to take everyone's study notes earlier than usual. The time did't matter anyway, she used them and discarded them.

Misaki saw a few more students from her class and prepared to read their minds. She again stealthily raised her remote and aimed it towards the group, smirking as she did so.

Someone bumped into her.

Misaki's aim was off, but the remote left her hand and instead was grabbed by the person who'd bumped into her.

"You know," Misaka said, dangling the remote in front of Misaki's face. "I knew you were lazy, but _this?_ This is an all new low for you, Shokuhou-san." Misaki stared at her roommates disapproving face for a moment before she laughed.

"Misaka-san! Whatever do you mean?" Misaka raised an eyebrow as Misaki reached for her remote. "I'm not being lazy!"

"So you're not just reading everyone else's memorized notes to get out of studying?" Misaki stared at her roommate for a moment, but Misaka didn't let up with the stare.

"Where'd you get that idea?" Misaki asked weakly, still forcing a laugh out of her mouth. Misaka hummed and raised her free hand to her mouth in thought.

"I dunno." She answered. "Maybe after I finally find you and I hear you say 'like taking candy from a baby'? Could that be it?"

"I wasn't reading their memorized notes?"

"What were you referring to, then?" The staring continued before Misaki laughed awkwardly.

"Oookay...So maybe I was kind of...only a little...totally making my own copy of everyone else's notes." Misaka sighed, ad Misaki grabbed her remote back. "Why do you care? It's not like I'm taking them! I'm just making a copy for me for the exams! It's not affecting you whatsoever."

"I know, but this is just..." Misaka shook her head. "I just don't know."

"What? You gonna be a teachers pet and get me in trouble?"

"As if. I know you don't think highly of me but I won't do that." The two watched each other closely before Misaka started to walk away, the way she'd come from.

"What're you...?" Misaki asked. Truthfully she'd expected more of a scolding. "Are you not going to like...Bend me over and spank me for misbehaving?"

"Ugh, no!" Misaka shouted. "What are you into?!...Anyway, like you said. You aren't hurting anyone. Well, except yourself."

"Huh?"

"Well if you're just taking the notes for the exams, I assume you're discarding them later."

"Of course."

"Well I'm just wondering how you'll get by later in life. By doing the same thing? What do you want to do anyway, Shokuhou-san? What if someone goes to you for an answer and not the other way around" Misaki stared at her roommates, no answer coming forth. "Huh, somehow I expected silence. Do whatever you want, I'm going to do it the honest way." The girl waved as she walked away, and Misaki stood there in silence after she was gone. Slowly, she looked down at the remote in her hands and contemplated what she was doing.

"I mean it's so much easier...But she does make a good point, I guess..."

* * *

Mikoto worked quietly, placing down another sheet of paper as she finished reviewing it. She turned and looked at he clock on the wall.

"Jeez, it's already six o'clock? I've been doing this all afternoon..." She returned to her work and tried to continue, but the sound of the door opening stopped her.

Shokuhou was standing in the doorway, staring at her.

"Hey." She said.

"H-Hey." Mikoto replied quietly. Shokuhou walked inside and went right for her room, and Mikoto just watched her go before returning to her work. If she wasn't going to actually study, then...

Shokuhou walked back around the front of the couch, dropped her binder on the table, sat down and started to flip through it. Mikoto watched as a small smile formed on her lips. Shokuhou looked over and brandished a finger at her.

"Don't think for even a _second_ you convinced me to do this. I already memorized everything for tomorrow's exam. I'll just study for the rest."

Of course.

Mikoto watched the girl begin to look through her notes on the other subjects they had, her smile now turned into a wince of somewhat defeat.

Progress, right?

Mikoto returned to her own notes, and the two proceeded in silence.

Actual silence.

And Mikoto enjoyed it. Maybe Shokuhou really was going to just study quietly.

"Sweet merciful God above this is boring!"

Never mind.

 **So...yeah. Again guys, I'm really sorry for the extended unannounced hiatus. I didn't mean to take it, but I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review!**


	26. Big Announcement (AN)

**Well, it's certainly been a long time since I've spoken to you guys, huh? Those of you that remain, anyway. Is there even anyone here? Doesn't matter. Not my point.**

 **I'm here today to give you guys some special news. And I think you've all waited more than long enough.**

 **I'm going to be rewriting Roommates!**

 **I've decided to rewrite this story. Looking back I had so much fun writing it, but it's also not as good as I feel it could be. My style has changed, and I feel the story would benefit from a total overhaul rather than a continuation. So, the rewrite will happen. And as such, I want to make a few points.**

 **1) The plot will remain the same, obviously. Maybe a tweak here or there but for the most part it'll remain the same.**

 **2)There will be more cohesion. In the original, I feel I leap from thought to thought without any real cause an affect. I will work to fix that. As best I can, anyway.**

 **3) Regular updates! (gasp) I will do my best to get an update out regularly. And please understand that no schedule is set in stone. Despite what you may think, I have a life outside of the internet. And it happens to get in the way sometimes. So please be patient if I'm a day or two late. It's bound to happen.**

 **Other than that, I had a question for anyone reading this. Should I post the rewrite as it's own story and delete this one? Or delete all chapters save the first of this one, and post the rewrite plus chapter two? I feel the latter option would keep more of an audience intact. If there's one left, that is.**

 **Other than that, I hope to see you all soon! And hopefully a lot of you! Cheers to the rewrite!**


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